Kobe Bryant has long been not only one of the NBA’s highest-paid athletes but one of the richest across all sports throughout the world. Kobe’s massive salary combined with a long list of endorsements always places him near the top of the richest athletes list every year.
In 2015 Kobe ranked 10th, bringing in $49.5 million. Boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao were far and away the top two earners, bringing in $300 million and $160 million respectively.
This year, Kobe’s earnings increased ever so slightly, but his spot on the Forbes list remained the same as Forbes again estimates he is the 10th highest paid athlete in the world via Darren Rovell of ESPN:
Highest paid athletes in the world, according to just released estimates from @Forbes pic.twitter.com/QoT9SIWRai
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 8, 2016
The list is a lot closer than last year’s with no Mayweather-Pacquiao blockbuster fight to push them ahead of the pack. There are, however, a lot of familiar names that would be expected on this list like soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, NBA superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant, and tennis star Roger Federer.
Even though Kobe is now officially retired, he has remained busy since walking away from the game. He recently appeared in a trailer for the new Ghostbusters movie and was also a part of the NBA 2K16 Road to the Finals event. He also continues to be honored as Spike TV named him Athlete of the Decade and he also ranked 11th on ESPN’s Fame 100 list.
Kobe obviously had a star element to him that the Los Angeles Lakers will struggle to replace now that he is gone. Whether it is through free agency, the draft, or via trade, somehow the Lakers will need to find a new star to replace him, even though it’s nearly impossible to expect that person to ever reach the heights that Kobe did.