Tiger Woods And Rory McIlroy In The Top 15 Highest-Paid Athletes In The World

In Forbes list of the highest-paid athletes in 2020, Tiger came in 8th place and Rory 14th.

Tiger Woods And Rory McIlroy In The Top 15 Highest-Paid Athletes
(Image credit: Getty Images)

In Forbes' list of the highest-paid athletes in 2020, Tiger came in 8th place and Rory 14th.

Tiger Woods And Rory McIlroy In The Top 15 Highest-Paid Athletes In The World

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy came in 8th and 14th place respectively in Forbes' 2020 list of the highest-paid athletes.

The 100 highest-paid athletes earned a combined $3.6 billion this year, which is 9% below 2019 and the first decline since 2016.

This decline is probably thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic which has led to the cancellations and postponements of many sporting events. Golf was not immune from this as the 2020 Open Championship at Royal St George's was cancelled and lots of other tournaments on the PGA and European Tours were affected.

Despite this, Woods earned $62.3 million which was split up into $60 million from endorsements, and a further $2.3 million from salary/winnings.

McIlroy came in 14th and his total was $52 million - $30 million of which came from endorsements and the other $22 coming from salary/winnings. Winning the FedEx Cup and its $15 million bonus played a big role here and he also won The Players Championship and RBC Canadian Open too.

The list was headed by Roger Federer who earned $106 million and he is followed by the usual athletes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Lebron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.

The rest of the top-100 is filled by a mixture of stars from the world of the NFL, NBA, boxing, F1, tennis, football, baseball and cricket.

Heading further down the list the only other two golfers to come inside the top-100 were Phil Mickelson in 25th place and Jordan Spieth in 52nd.

Another noteworthy feature of the 2020 list was the presence of two women, Noami Osaka and Serena Williams. This is the first time since 2016 that two women have made the list.

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Sam Tremlett
E-commerce Editor

A golfer for most of his life, Sam is Golf Monthly's E-commerce Editor.

Working with golf gear and equipment over the last six years, Sam has quickly built outstanding knowledge and expertise on golf products ranging from drivers, to balls, to shoes. 

He combines this knowledge with a passion for helping golfers get the best gear for them, and as such Sam manages a team of writers that look to deliver the most accurate and informative reviews and buying advice. This takes the form of buying guides, reviews, supporting gear content as well as creating deal content.

This is so the reader can find exactly what they are looking for, at a good price.


Sam now spends most of his time testing and looking after golf gear content for the website, whilst he is also responsible for all content related to golf apparel. 

Additionally Sam oversees Golf Monthly voucher/coupon content which seeks to find you the best offers and promotions from well-known brands like Callaway, TaylorMade and many more.


Unfortunately, Sam is not a member of any club at the moment but regularly gets out on the golf course to keep up the facade of having a single-figure handicap. 


Sam's What's In The Bag: 

Driver: Cobra LTDxLS (9 degrees) 

Fairway Wood: Ping G430 Max (15 degrees), Nike Covert Tour 2.0 (19 degrees) 

Irons (4-PW): Titleist AP2 

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 54˚, 58˚ 

Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5 

Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond

Shoes: G/FORE Gallivanter/Nike Air Zoom Victory Tour 3/Cuater The Ringer
(For off the course he goes for Nike Jordan 1 Low G shoes as well)