There’s a lot of money in being athletic, so much so that it’s almost enough to make us want to put down our cheesy crust pizzas and Heineken and go out and do some exercise. Almost. David Beckham’s net worth is staggering, with ol’ Golden Balls having accumulated a vast amount of wealth in his illustrious football and occasional pants-modeling career.
Find out how much David Beckham earns, along with a few surprising facts regarding the financial situations of some of his fellow sportsmen, in the gallery below.
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David Beckham's Net Worth and 5 Other Mega Rich Sportsmen
Arnold Palmer
Widely credited with having popularised golf as a sport for both the middle and working class as well as the upper class, Arnold Palmer was hugely successful in his prime and was awarded the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.
He's also the richest athlete EVER, with a net worth of $675 million at the ripe old age of 84.
David Beckham
David Beckham's net worth is an estimated $300 million, which should come as no surprise considering he's the UK's biggest sports ambassador and is as synonymous with England as fish and chips, tea and bad dental hygiene.
The vast proportion of Beckham's earnings this year has come from endorsements with the likes of clothing brand H&M and Sky Sports, as he has now retired from professional football after donating his salary at his last club Paris Saint-Germain to a local children's charity.
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Roger Federer
Tennis star Roger Federer may only be ranked sixth in the world at the moment, but he was the second-highest earning athlete of this year, though very little of his earnings came from his day job.
Federer earned $7 million for playing tennis and a whopping $65 million from his endorsements which include Nike, Rolex and champagne brand Moet. His net worth is $180 million.
Kobe Bryant
Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant is the 21st richest athlete ever with a net worth of $200 million, though he's quickly climbing up the list as one of the current highest-paid active athletes, with his earnings for this year sitting just behind those of Roger Federer's and Tiger Wood's.
His fortune pales in comparison to that of basketball legend's Michael Jordan's, though, who's the second richest athlete of all time with a staggering net worth of $650 million. I wonder how much of that money is down to Space Jam DVD sales?
Tiger Woods
Widely considered the greatest athlete of all time, Tiger Woods is also the 4th richest athlete of all time, with a net worth of around $500 million.
Like most athletes, a large portion of his wages comes from his sponsorships, which made up $65 million of his earnings this year, compared to the $13 million he made form actually playing golf.
Vince McMahon
Strictly speaking the WWE is "Sports Entertainment", but if you tried to tell a professional wrestler that what he did was a lot less physically taxing than what the likes of a pro golfer/tennis player does, you'd likely be hit by a very real punch in the mouth.
The owner of the WWE Vince McMahon is not your typical boss, in that he isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty every once in a while. Although he hasn't stepped in the "squared circle" for some time, he's gone toe-to-toe with the likes of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart, putting his health at risk whilst continuing to run one of the most successful businesses in America.
His net worth is currently valued at $500 million, though the company he runs is worth billions.