Mavericks Nowitzki Top Earning Athlete In DFW
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) -- A knee surgery and sub-par season kept the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki out of the playoffs, but it didn't keep Nowitzki from earning yet another distinction. According to Sports Illustrated's "Fortunate 50", Nowitzki is the highest paid athlete in the metroplex.
Nowitzki earned $20,907,000 playing for the Mavericks last season, earning another $400,000 in endorsements. His total earnings of $21,307,000 ranked him 35th among professional athletes in the United States.
Nowitzki was not on the list in 2012. No other athlete in the Dallas-Fort Worth area appeared in the top 50.
For the second consecutive year, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the highest-earning athlete in American sports. After Mayweather cashes in on a scheduled fight in September, the athlete is projected to earn at least $90 million.
The Miami Heat's Lebron James is a distant second at $56.5 million.
Tiger Woods, who held the top spot from 2004-2011, was fifth with $40.8 million, his lowest spot ever.
Current NBA players Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul all earned more than Nowitzki over the past year.
25 baseball players, 13 basketball players and eight football players are included on the list. For the fifth consecutive year, no female athletes made the list.
The estimates combine salary, winnings and endorsements.
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