Former KU star Joel Embiid lands on Forbes’ list of richest athletes in the world
A person could buy a whole lot of Shirley Temples with $26.7 million.
A Shirley Temple is a non-alcoholic cocktail made with ginger ale, grenadine, lime juice and topped with a maraschino cherry.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid discovered the Shirley Temple while at Kansas, and it remains his beverage of choice.
“One night I went out with my (Jayhawks) teammates,” Embiid told NBC Sports in 2017. “I don’t drink alcohol so I wasn’t drinking. This girl walked up to me, she was talking to me, she was like, ‘Why aren’t you drinking?’ I was like, ‘I just don’t drink, alcohol is nasty.’ She said, ‘I might have something for you.’ She went and got a Shirley Temple. Then I was like, ‘Ohhh OK.’ Then I fell in love with it and since then, I’ve been drinking it.”
Although, he’s had to cut back as part of his diet as an NBA player, Embiid can afford to buy as many he’d ever want because he’s making $26.7 million this year. That’s according to Forbes, which released its list of the 100 richest athletes in the world. Embiid was No. 60.
According to Forbes, Embiid’s salary is $20.7 million and he is also making $6 million in endorsements.
“Paydays for the world’s top-earning athletes dropped for the first time in four years, according to the 2020 Forbes ranking as the coronavirus wreaked havoc on sports and canceled or postponed many marquee events for the first time since World War II,” Kurt Badenhausen wrote.
Tennis star Rodger Federer ($106.3 million, including $100 million in endorsements) is No. 1 in the world, followed by soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi). The top athlete in the United States is Lakers star LeBron James at No. 5, and Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins at No. 9 is the highest-paid NFL player.
NFL quarterbacks make up five of the top 22 highest-paid athletes, which means its likely Chiefs’ star Patrick Mahomes will make the list next year when he is expected to receive a contract extension.
Former Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is No. 88 on the list and Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is No. 99.
You can read more here, and USA Today made this video of the top 10:
