Superstar Kobe Bryant may be nearing the end of his career in the NBA, but the five-time NBA champion still earns major paychecks on and off the basketball floor. Although Bryant is one of the wealthiest active NBA players, the veteran guard now has some stiff competition in terms of being the highest-paid player in the league with his salary and endorsements combined.
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According to Forbes, Bryant has cracked the top-10 list for the world’s highest-paid athletes:
The top-two athletes on this list come as no surprise. Floyd Mayweather Jr. ($300M) always seems to be at the top these days for ridiculously high paydays for a single night’s work in the boxing ring. Although not as big a draw as his latest opponent in the ring, Manny Pacquiao ($160M) also cashed a huge check this year skyrocketing him up this list.
Kobe ending up as 10th on the list of the world’s highest-paid athletes is definitely a sign of the times. Not only is Bryant ($49.5M) sitting behind two golfers (Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson) and a tennis player (Roger Federer), but the Los Angeles Lakers star is third on the list of highest-paid NBA players behind Kevin Durant ($54.1M) and LeBron James ($64.8M).
Bryant will likely have only one more year on this list with the future Hall of Famer set to make $25 million in perhaps his final season with the Lakers. The endorsements will possibly stay the same or provide an even higher revenue stream for Kobe throughout his farewell season.
Once Bryant walks away, James and Durant will shoulder the load in the NBA until a new marketable superstar arises in the years to come.
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