{"id":76282,"date":"2014-12-15T21:31:06","date_gmt":"2014-12-15T21:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=76282"},"modified":"2023-04-13T21:25:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T21:25:19","slug":"behind-mic-humbug-holiday-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-humbug-holiday-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Mic: Humbug! The Holiday Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

The holidays \u2013 it\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year, right?\u00a0 Well, to some extent.\u00a0 However, there are the trips to the malls, the list of gifts to buy, the holiday parties, the forgotten present, etc.\u00a0 So right about now, you are probably starting to become concerned about your holiday budget.\u00a0 You may have set a cost limit on gifts and entertaining and are now realizing that your budget may be totally unrealistic.\u00a0 So you begin to stress over finding the money to pay the extra bills associated with the end of the year.\u00a0 Imagine if that stress was totally eliminated because you earn so much money that you do not have to think about money at all.\u00a0 There are many, many athletes who have that luxury.\u00a0 Here are the Top Ten moneymakers for 2014:<\/p>\n

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  1. Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan<\/strong><\/a> earns $43.8 million a year or $3,650,000 per month, which is $121,667 a day and he is #10!<\/li>\n
  2. Tennis player Rafael Nadal<\/strong><\/a> makes \u201conly\u201d $14.5 million playing tennis, but gets $30 million in endorsements.<\/li>\n
  3. Golfer Phil Mickelson<\/strong><\/a> does much better endorsing products ($48 million) than he does playing golf, which brings in a paltry $5.2 million.<\/li>\n
  4. Roger Federer<\/strong><\/a> of tennis fame made $4.2 million on the court, but brought in $52 million in endorsements.<\/li>\n
  5. No one does better by not playing than Tiger Woods<\/strong><\/a>. He earned $55 million in endorsements and \u201cjust\u201d $6.2 million playing golf.<\/li>\n
  6. The NBA is represented by two players. Kobe Bryant<\/strong><\/a> makes $31 million in endorsements and $30.5 million from the Lakers.<\/li>\n
  7. Lionel Messi<\/strong><\/a> of soccer fame kicks the ball around for $41.7 million and receives an extra $23 million in endorsements.<\/li>\n
  8. LeBron James<\/strong><\/a> does quite well playing basketball, taking in $19.3 million, but those commercials and product deals garner another $53 million for a grand total of $72.3 million.<\/li>\n
  9. The highest-paid soccer player is Cristiano Ronaldo<\/strong><\/a> who makes $52 million playing and another $28 million selling himself to advertisers. That is a cool $80 million.<\/li>\n
  10. Boxer Floyd Mayweather<\/strong><\/a> topped this list this year, earning $105 million WITH NO ENDORSEMENTS! He earned it all in the ring – $8,750,000 per month, $291,667 per day, $12,152.78 every hour of the day!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So there you have it.\u00a0 Or rather they have it and you, not so much.\u00a0 So as you trek out one<\/p>\n

    more time for that gift, that outfit, that box of candy, or bottle of wine, it is important that<\/p>\n

    we remember that not only do we wish for \u201cpeace on earth\u201d, but also for \u201cgood will towards men\u201d no matter how much money they earn. But we still have to check the price tag first!<\/p>\n

    ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/strong><\/p>\n