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(Forbes, 18 december 1995)
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS is big business, and like any big business there are peaks and valleys. Lat year was a valley, mostly because of work stop-pages in baseball and hockey, but the take is sharply rising again. So 1994 looks like nothing more than a one-year glitch in a very bullish market. The minimum price of admission to FORBES' Super 40 list of the top-earning athletes surged to $6.2 million - a 29% spike - while the cumulative earnings of the Super 40 jumped to $490 million, from $354 million. Those figures are the highest since FORBES begam keeping score in 1990. Indeed, with the exception of last year, the sports business, as reflected by the economic performance of its superstars, has been on a steadily increasing trajectory (see charts).It's only fitting that this bull market is again led by a Chicago Bull, Michael Jordan. The king of sports endorsing, Jordan returned to basketball in March and heads our list for the fourth year in a row, thanks largely to a record $40 million in endorsement income and licensing royalties. Since first gracing our list in 1990, Jordan has earned an estimated $170 million. Lucrative new endorsement deals with Oakley sunglasses and Rayovac helped swell his total this year.
But endorsements weren't the main reason for the big jump in Super 40 earnings last year. Both pay and winnings were way up, too. The five listed boxers together earned $100 million, almost twice as much as last year, and only 10% of which came from endorsements. Thank Mike Tyson for most of the jump. The former heavyweight champion fought for just 89 seconds, but it was long enough to win $25 million. He also got about $15 million in bonuses from Viacom's Showtime cable network and MGM Grand casino.
The end of the baseball lockout also had an impact. Last year, the Super 40 had one full-time major league baseball player; this year, there are seven, all of whom make more playing ball then pitching product. Baseball's return also help maked this year's Super 40 more of an American affair, with 32 of the 40 holding U.S. passports, up sharply from 26 last year.
This year may well go down as the year of the signing bonus, especially in football, where salary cap accounting rules encourage owners to dish out one time fees. Flamboyant cornerback Deion Sanders got a $13 million bonus from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, the largest in team sports history. That check, along with Sanders healthy salaries in both baseball and football and his endorsement deals, shot him from number 38 last year to the number 3 position.
Jones also paid $5 million to Cowboys receiver Michael Irving, who debuts on the list. Quarterback Drew Bledsoe took home an $11,5 million bonus from the New England Patriots, and Ki-Jana Carter got $7 million from the Cincinnati Bengals.
Vibrant businesses have turnover, and sports is not exception. This year, 18 of the previous Super 40 fell off the list. Notable dropouts include a trio of top fighters - Michael Moorer, Julio Cesar Chavez and Lennox Lewis. Joe Montana and auto racer Nigel Mansell retired. Several more were surpassed by the baseball players.
Expected turnover next year, too - especially with basketball rookie Jerry Stackhouse, tennis' comeback kid Monica Seles, boxers Oscar de la Hoya and Roy Jones Jr. and auto racers Damon Hill and Jeff Gordon all poised for big earnings in 1996.
Michael Jordan, 32
1994 Rank: 1
Salary/winnings: $3.9
Endorsements: $40.0
Total (millions): $43.9
Four years in a row at number 1. Two new endorsements deals: Rayovac and Oakley sunglasses (the latter placed Jordan on its board). Still pitches Nike (royalties make it the best deal in sports endorsements), Wilson, McDonald's, Gatorade, etc. Free agent on the court after this season: $20 million-a-year contract possible. First athlete on The Forbes Four Hundred? Stay tuned.
Mike Tyson, 29
1994 Rank: not ranked
Salary/winnings: $40.0
Endorsements: $0.0
Total (millions): $40.0
Three years in prison didn't hurt marketability - 1.3 million homes paid up to $60 to watch Tyson demolish palooka Peter McNeeley in 89 seconds. Good for $25 million payday. Before that, some $15 million combined signing bonus from Showtime and MGM Grand. Might have topped Jordan, except for canceled November bout. No endorsements for convicted rapists, though.
George Foreman., 46
1994 Rank: 15
Salary/winnings: $10.0
Endorsements: $8.0
Total (millions): $18.0
Stripped of his titles, Foreman still rates the people's favorite. One fight on HBO against German Axel Schulz earned him $10 million, but the baby boomer also made more this year in endorsements than any other boxer in history. Many speaking engagements, as well as a hamburger maker that netted him $1 million. "George Foreman means selling", he tells FORBES (see p. 202).
. Andre Agassi, 25
1994 Rank: 9
Salary/winnings: $3.0
Endorsements: $13.0
Total (millions): $16.0
The image-driven Agassi privately griped about being underpaid by Nike. Indeed, he almost jumped ship to Reebok this year, but agreed to stay put after Nike offered a lucrative ten-year deal. "He knew that it was now his time", says Robert Kain, who handles many of his deals at International Management Group. Continued to play well this year, which led to huge appearance fees.
. Jack Nicklaus, 55
1994 Rank: 3
Salary/winnings: $0.6
Endorsements: $14.5
Total (millions): $15.1
Nicklaus played better golf on the PGA senior tour, but it's basically a hobby compared with his myriad business interests (FORBES, Dec 19, 1994). Same stable of endorsements deals - Gulfstream, Lincoln-Mercury, Hartmarx, etc. - and his big licensing business was aided by a new line of Jack Nicklaus accessories, including ties and cufflinks.
Michael Schumacher, 26
1994 Rank: 30
Salary/winnings: $10.0
Endorsements: $5.0
Total (millions): $15.0
Although it usually surprises Americans, Formula 1 racing is hugely popular in the rest of the world. In winning his second consecutive title, Schumacker has picked up the mantle of the late Ayrton Senna as that circuit's dominant driver. And wait until next year, when he jumps from the Benetton racing team to Ferrari and a contract worth over $20 million a year kicks in.
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