The Top Five Best-Paid Athletes in 2011

Easily the envy of the working men of the world, world-class athletes have both the blessing and the curse of their occupation being a sport in which they are tremendously talented. As the venerable Confucius once said, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." If this is true, then these Top Five Best-Paid Athletes are making an obscene amount of money without ever having to labor a day in their lives.

At one point in time considered the best kryptonite to the unstoppable force that was Tiger Woods' golf game, Phil Mickelson is probably best known for his left-handed shot (giving him the nickname "Lefty") and winning the 2010 Masters and promptly embracing his wife, Amy, who was recovering from breast cancer. However, Mickelson can also lay claim to an incredible salary in 2011: $46.5 million. Lefty can lay claim to endorsements with KPMG, ExxonMobil, Rolex, Barclays, Callaway Golf, and Enbrel, the drug that treats the psoriatic arthritis with which he was diagnosed last year.

The buzz around this year's Wimbledon undoubtedly surrounded a highly-touted rematch between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut and the finals match that determined the world's number one tennis player in a match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Djokovic decisively won Wimbledon and continued his dominance in the realm of tennis, but he is no match in terms of salary for Roger Federer. The former Swiss number one boasted an impressive pay of $47 million in 2011. He is a seemingly omnipresent face in the advertising world, and endorses Nike, Gilette, Jura, Mercedes-Benz, NetJets, Rolex, and Wilson.

Perhaps the most publicly reviled athlete in Cleveland, let alone the American sports landscape as a whole, LeBron James can easily laugh his way to the bank despite losing a heartbreaking NBA finals to the Dallas Mavericks after surviving a season under the media's magnifying glass following his move to "take his talents to South Beach." At LeBron James' yearly salary of $18.35 million with the Miami Heat, "The King" was paid $178,155.34 every team he set foot on a court for a 60 minute game. And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of LeBron's wide swath of endorsements, which include Nike, Sprite, Glaceau, Bubblicious, Upper Deck, McDonald's, and State Farm, bringing his 2011 pay to $48 million.

And LeBron James isn't even the top-paid player in the NBA. Kobe Bryant can lay claim to that crown, despite being bounced from the NBA playoffs in a humiliating sweep to the eventual champions, the Dallas Mavericks. "The Black Mamba" can also lay claim to the highest salary from his respective team, the Los Angeles Lakers, who paid him $24.8 million for this season. For the 92 games that Kobe Bryant played this year, he was payed $269,565.22, or $5,615.94 per minute. In less than a quarter of play, Kobe Bryant has approximately matched the median American salary for 2011 ($45,000-$47,999). In one game, he earns over five times that. Throw in countless endorsements through famous brands such as Turkish Airlines, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Coca-Cola, and Nike, raising his 2011 pay to an impressive $53 million.

Fall from grace, revoked endorsements, and injuries aside, surprisingly enough (or perhaps not), Tiger Woods is still the best-paid athlete in the land. Perhaps what is more surprising is that Kobe Bryant doesn't even come close to matching Tiger Wood's incredible pay for 2011 of $75 million. Woods withdrew from June's U.S. Open, and more recently pulled out of the British Open, citing his long-term health and rehabilitation of his injured left knee as the reason. Woods has gone without winning a major since defeating Rocco Mediate in sudden death at the 2008 U.S. Open. In his notable absence, it seems a new breed of golfers has filled the void, especially Northern Ireland product Rory McIlroy. However, Tiger Woods is still endorsed by two giants, Nike and Electronic Arts (which markets its annual golf games "Tiger Woods PGA Tour" under his name), allowing him to retain his spot as the top cash-earner of the sports world.