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The 100 highest-paid athletes in the world earned a collective $2.75 billion over the last 12 months, up 5% versus one year ago. The rise is a result of rising salaries for elite players as exploding TV rights fees fuel higher revenues across sports around the world. Salary and prize money for the top 100 rose 9%, while total endorsement income was down 5% to $741 million with some companies re-evaluating the athlete-sponsor relationship in recent years after high-profile blowups with iconic athletes like Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong. The entry point for the top 100 was $17.3 million compared to $16.4 million last year.
