Tiger Tops Money List

According to Forbes, Tiger Woods once again reigns atop the list of the world's highest-paid athletes. It's a position he has occupied every year since 2001 except for last year, 2012, when Floyd Mayweather Jr. took the spot.

It’s estimated that Woods took in 55 and a half million over the past year, 8 and a half million of that in prize money. The rest came from endorsements, appearance fees and design work. According to Forbes, Tiger was the world’s most richly compensated athlete from 2001 to 2012, when Floyd Mayweather toppled him from that perch.

The biggest contributor to Woods’ vast wealth remains Nike, which pays Tiger more than £13 million a year, according to Forbes. You can understand why Nike is willing to break the bank to re-sign Tiger this year. The money magazine reckons, "Revenues at Nike Golf rose 10% last year to $726 million after three straight years of declines."

Woods also pulls in hefty sums from such corporate partners as Rolex, Upper Deck, TLC Eye Centres and NetJets, to say nothing of Electronic Arts, which produces the hugely popular Tiger Woods PGA Tour video game.

Not surprisingly, the uptick in Tiger’s financial fortunes coincides with his resurgent play, which has catapulted him back into the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings.