Usain Bolt is worth over $60M, according to Claire Thomas of the London TELEGRAPH. It has been estimated that he will be the 32nd highest-earning athlete on the planet. To put that in context, "he is the only track and field athlete to make the top 100 sports stars, and makes roughly 20 times more than the average sprinter." Bolt, who peaked in '13 as the 48th highest-earning celebrity in the world, is set to earn a further £3,100,000 ($4M) a year as a global ambassador for Puma until '25, and also boasts endorsement deals with Gatorade, Hublot, Virgin Media, Visa, and Nissan Motors. Where "does this money come from?" Despite the sport's "rapidly-increasing popularity," prize money in athletics is "pretty insubstantial" -- unless you are Bolt. The winner of an individual Diamond League race receives just under £8,000 ($10,300).
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| Usain Bolt |
Bolt has managed this 23 times, "and has won an overall Diamond League Race once:" that is about £210,000 ($270,300) so far. A gold medal at the IAAF World Championships is worth around £46,500 ($60,000), a silver £23,000 ($29,600), and a world record £77,500 ($99,800). That is £728,250 ($937,600) at major championships. On top of that, "the sprinter can command huge appearance fees, given his headlining potential, reaching the dizzying heights" of £270,000 ($347,600). Does he "justify such sums?" "Absolutely." Usain Bolt "single-handedly sells out stadiums." Before the 2008 Olympics, Usain Bolt's only sponsors were his kit supplier, Puma, and Jamaican telecom Digicel.
BOLT'S CORPORATE SPONSORS
(Known sums)
Puma -- £7,750,000 ($10M) a year
Gatorade -- £2M-£3M ($2.6M-$3.86M) a year (plus a bonus every time he's pictured drinking it)
Visa -- £500,000 ($644,000)-plus
Virgin Media -- £2M
Digicel -- £100,000 ($129,000)
Soul Electronics -- £100,000
Regupol -- "a world-class track" installed at his training venue in Jamaica
Other supporters
Hublot
Nissan
All Nippon Airways
Gibson Innovations
Enertor (insoles)
ChampionShave
Optus, Telkom, Fastweb, Celcom
Banco Original (TELEGRAPH, 8/15).
