The World's Highest Paid Athletes in 1991
Here is the top 10 list of the highest earning sports people from 1991, earnings estimated for the 1991 calendar year by Forbes. It is the second time they have published such a list. The highest ranked female was Monica Seles at 12th with $7.6 mil in earnings, then steffi Graf at 16 with $7.3 million.
The list was published by Forbes in August 1991. Earnings totals include salaries, bonuses, prize money, endorsements and appearance fees. See also the top earning lists from other years.
| Name | Sport | Nationality | earnings ($ million) | previous year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Evander Holyfield | boxing | USA | 60.5 | =8 |
| 2. | Mike Tyson | boxing | USA | 31.5 | 1 |
| 3. | Michael Jordan | basketball | USA | 16.0 | =8 |
| 4. | George Foreman | boxing | USA | 14.5 | >30 |
| 5. | Ayrton Senna | auto racing | Brazil | 13.0 | 4 |
| 6. | Alain Prost | auto racing | France | 11.0 | 5 |
| 7. | Donovan "Razor" Ruddock | boxing | Canada | 10.2 | >30 |
| 8. | Arnold Palmer | golf | USA | 9.3 | =8 |
| 9. | Nigel Mansell | auto racing | UK | 9.0 | 12 |
| 10. | Sugar Ray Leonard | golf | USA | 8.5 | 6 |
next on the list were: Larry Bird, Monica Seles, Joe Montana, Stefan Edberg, Greg Norman, Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Wayne Gretzky, and Gerhard Berger.
References
- Forbes Magazine, Aug 19, 1991, Vol 148, No.4. The 40 highest-paid athletes list, p82-83
Related Pages
- See the top earning lists from other years.
- Other world sport lists
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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