Nike’s Air Jordan collection is continuing to help make Michael Jordan the highest-paid athlete of all time.<\/p>\n
The former Chicago Bulls star is earning more annually than any active athlete even 23 years after his retirement from the NBA, according to a Wednesday report by Sportico<\/a>.<\/p>\n This year’s income pushed Jordan’s career earnings to a record estimated total of $3.28 billion, equivalent to $4.5 billion when adjusted for inflation, according to Sportico.<\/p>\n Only three other athletes have earned more than $2 billion in inflation-adjusted earnings in Tiger Woods ($2.88 billion), Cristiano Ronaldo ($2.52 billion) and LeBron James ($2.03 billion), according to Sportico. <\/p>\n Lionel Messi comes in just under the cut at $1.99 billion in career earnings when adjusted for inflation, per Sportico.<\/p>\n The top-ten list for career inflation-adjusted earnings is rounded out by Arnold Palmer ($1.85 billion), Jack Nicklaus ($1.83 billion), David Beckham ($1.68 billion), Roger Federer ($1.67 billion) and Floyd Mayweather ($1.57 billion), according to Sportico.<\/p>\n A total of 13 current or former NBA players made the top-50 list, the most among any professional sports league, per Sportico.<\/p>\n In addition to James, active NBA players on the list included Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Giannis Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n Serena Williams, who ranks No. 40 with $680 million in inflation-adjusted career earnings, was the only woman to qualify for the list.<\/p>\n Jordan remained on top of the list in part thanks to his longstanding partnership with Nike, from whom he receives hundreds of millions<\/a> per year in royalties, as well as deals with Hanes and Gatorade in addition to investments<\/a> in DraftKings, NASCAR and the Charlotte Hornets.<\/p>\n