Tiger Woods is once again earning and burning. The No. 1 golfer in the world just topped Forbes' list of highest-paid athletes.
In a remarkable turn from where he was just a couple years ago, Woods has once again found his game and gotten deals from sponsors that have made him a very rich individual.
Here is the top five from an extensive list you can view over at Forbes.
Tiger Woods - $78.1 million
Roger Federer - $71.5 million
Kobe Bryant - $61.9 million
LeBron James - $59.8 million
Drew Brees - $51 million
Before we get to how remarkable Woods' triumphant return to the money leader spot has been, let's delve into some interesting aspects of this list.
The total Forbes settles on for each athlete is a simple addition of their salary/winnings and endorsements for the year. Woods took his $13.1 million in winnings and dumped them on top of a mountain of endorsements that totaled $65 million.
While individual sports and their athletes pepper nicely throughout the list, football, basketball and soccer do very well for their respective stars.
Of the top 20 athletes, five are from the NFL and four represent the NBA, while soccer chimes in with three in the upper echelon of earners.
Despite his persona as someone made of money, Floyd Mayweather comes in at No. 14 on the list. Although, something tells me he isn't hurting with $34 million in winnings.
Baseball, in all its rising popularity, only welcomes one athlete to the top 20 on the list. It's Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez (No. 18), who is currently being dragged through PED mud once again.
As for Woods, Forbes' Kurt Badenhausen has a full report on the golfer who was struck with a great deal of personal tumult in 2009 and lost many sponsors as a result.
As the report states, Woods "lost five sponsors, $50 million in annual income, his place atop the world golf rankings and his marriage." Not only that, he seemed to lose every last vestige of his classic self on the golf course.
After a great start to the year, Woods now finds himself at the No. 1 spot in his sport despite recent troubles at the Memorial Tournament.
He endorses companies like EA Sports, Rolex and, of course, Nike. Speaking of the sports apparel company, they have enjoyed a similar boost recently, via Badenhausen.
http://bleacherreport.com