Highest Paid Athletes Per Quinquennial

What the heck is a quinquennial eh? Well, it's every 5 years, so were going to go back to 1990 and take a look at the highest paid players every 5 years and see how much it's changed. All the total earnings numbers come from Forbes.

1990

1990 was 25 years ago, 3 years older than myself. The highest paid athlete that year? Mike Tyson. He earned $28.6 million that year. Tyson was a 5 foot 10 inch heavyweight boxer. Mike was 18 years old when he made his debut as a professional boxer in 1985. The match was over quickly as he knocked out Hector Mercedes in the first round. Throughout his career he had 58 total fights and won 50 of those. Of his 50 wins, 44 of them were by knockout. Many know Mike Tyson from biting Evander Holyfield's ear off in 1997.

1995

Michael Jordan, the Chicago Bulls guard that is considered by many as the greatest player of all time as you may know, earned the most money out of any athlete in 1995. His total earnings were put at $43.9 million. By 1995 Michael Jordan had 10 NBA seasons under his belt, and this was also the 4th year in a row in which he was considered the highest paid athlete (1992-1995). He took a year off in 1996, in which Mike Tyson was again the highest paid athlete, and then came back on top for the next two years in 1997 and 1998.

2000

Michael Schumacher was the highest paid athlete in 2000 with total earnings of $59 million. This was his second year in a row as the highest paid athlete as he made $49 million in 1999. Schumacher was an auto racer who 7 Formula One World Championships. He holds a handful of records for Formula One, including fastest laps, most races won in a single season, race victories, and most championships. Many believe that he is the best Formula One racer of all time.

2005 & 2010
Tiger Woods, everyone. Woods has dominated the highest paid athlete list in the past 14 years, as he has been the top dog 11 of those years, including both 2005 and 2010. He was the highest paid athlete from 2002-2011, and then returned again at the top in 2013. During those 11 years he combined for total earnings of $987.4 million. His highest total earning in one year was 2008, in which he earned $115 million. Woods was a dominant force on the golf course, but he also brought in a lot from endorsement deals.

2015
Wanna talk about a lot of money folks? Then let's talk Floyd Mayweather, who has total earnings of $300 million in 2015. Most of those earning came from his fight against Manny Pacquiao earlier this year, who happens to be the second highest paid athlete this year. $15 million has come from endorsement deals. Compared to 1990, Floyd is making a whopping 1048.95% times more than what Mike Tyson did, Talk about a huge difference in money!