At his peak, Tiger Woods was unrivalled on a golf course.
But he was also untouchable for the best part of a decade when it came to raking in the cash.
Over the course of Woods‘ glittering career, he has topped Forbes’ list of the top paid athlete a staggering 11 times.
Of those 11, nine of those came between 2000 to 2010.
It should come as no surprise that decade was his most successful on the course.
A 15-time major winner, Woods won 12 of those in that span as the world marvelled at his freakish golf abilities.
According to Forbes’ list, Woods’ earnings from that decade was an eye-watering $834.3million (£662.6m).
What makes Woods’ dominance in the financial domain so special is that the next man in terms of the most appearances atop Forbes’ top paid athlete list, Michael Jordan, is five behind.
Similarly to Woods, Jordan’s years at the top of the list were during his reign atop the NBA with the Chicago Bulls.
Jordan, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be a staggering $3.5b (£2.77b), won six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998.
Although Jordan’s years atop the list were in the 90s, he still continues to count his cash thanks to his Air Jordan Brand, which is a subsidiary of Nike.
According to Forbes, the Jordan Brand generated $6.59b (£5.2b) in 2023.
Who topped Forbes’ Top Paid Athlete list from 1990 onwards?
| Athlete | Times at the top of the list | Years |
| Tiger Woods | 11 times | 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 |
| Michael Jordan | 6 times | 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998 |
| Floyd Mayweather | 4 times | 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 4 times | 2016, 2017, 2023, 2024 |
| Mike Tyson | 2 times | 1990, 1996 |
| Lionel Messi | 2 times | 2019, 2022 |
| Michael Schumacher | 2 times | 1999, 2000 |
| Conor McGregor | Once | 2021 |
| Evander Holyfield | Once | 1991 |
| Roger Federer | Once | 2020 |
Following Jordan, boxing icon Floyd Mayweather and football legend Cristiano Ronaldo are next with the most entries at the top of the list with four each.
Unsurprisingly, one of Mayweather’s years coincided with his fight against Manny Pacquiao in 2015 as boxing fans across the world tuned in to see the long-awaited bout.
Mayweather emerged victorious in what was his third-last professional fight as the pay-per-view generated $400m (£317m) in revenue.
As for Ronaldo, who is the first active athlete to earn more than $1billion in his career, the latter two of his four years went hand-in-hand with his move to the Saudi Pro League.
The Portuguese great joined Al Nassr in December 2022 following an acrimonious departure from Manchester United.
Although clubs in Europe had hoped to land Ronaldo, they simply could not compete with the £170m-per-season contact Al Nassr offered him.
Ronaldo’s contract with Al Nassr is due to expire at the end of the Saudi Pro League season, but talks between the two parties are progressing regarding a new deal.
Should Ronaldo ink a new contract on a similar wage, it could mean the 40-year-old remains top of the list for a number of years to come.
Ronaldo’s four years as the top paid athlete is two more than his arch nemesis Lionel Messi, who earned the honour in 2019 and 2022.
However, Messi can lay claim to being a World Cup winner and an eight-time Ballon d’Or recipient.