Who Makes the Most
1
RONALDINHO
Soccer, AC Milan
$35.4 MILLION
The Italian superclub reportedly will pay the Brazilian magician $28.6 million over three years. Endorsements—Nike, Pepsi, Gatorade—make up the rest.
2
ALEX RODRIGUEZ
Baseball, New York Yankees
$35 MILLION
If the Dominican-American slugger plays out his 10-year, $275 million contract, he'll have earned $445 million in base salary over a 24-year career.
3
LIONEL MESSI
Soccer, FC Barcelona
$33.75 MILLION
Having lost Ronaldinho, Barcelona locked up the Argentine striker for $12 million annually over six years and up to $7 million more in bonuses.
4
MANNY RAMIREZ
Baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers
$22.5 MILLION
The Red Sox paid the $7 million Manny was still owed for '08 when they traded him on July 31. Some $2.5 million of his income is from endorsements.
5
JOHAN SANTANA
Baseball, New York Mets
$20.75 MILLION
The lefthanded ace from Venezuela is the fourth pitcher to sign a multiyear, $100 million--plus contract, and the first Latino among them.
6
CARLOS ZAMBRANO
Baseball, Chicago Cubs
$20.25 MILLION
Big Z, another Venezuelan, signed a $91.5 million extension in August '07. His $18.3 million average annual salary is baseball's sixth-highest.
7
RONALDO
Soccer
$19.7 MILLION
The Nike icon is one of the best-paid footballers for '08 even though he's been clubless since his AC Milan contract expired in June. Where to? Home to Brazil?
8
KAKA
Soccer, AC Milan
$18.9 MILLION
The Brazilian playmaker's reported $14 million salary is the highest of any soccer player on the planet. He endorses Adidas, Sony and Emporio Armani.
9
DAVID ORTIZ
Baseball, Boston Red Sox
$17 MILLION
Big Papi, born in the Dominican Republic, has a wife from Wisconsin, two U.S.--born kids and two World Series rings. Now he's a U.S. citizen too.
TIE 10
CARLOS DELGADO
Baseball, New York Mets
$16.5 MILLION
The Marlins, who traded the Puerto Rican to New York in 2005, reportedly paid $4 million of his '08 salary—more than any current Marlin earned.
TIE 10
ALBERT PUJOLS
Baseball, St. Louis Cardinals
$16.5 MILLION
The Dominican first baseman and fellow infielders Adam Kennedy, Cesar Izturis and Troy Glaus will earn about $32 million in '08—a third of St. Louis's payroll.
TIE 12
BOBBY ABREU
Baseball, New York Yankees
$16.25 MILLION
He bought a Manhattan condo in '05, a year before becoming a Yankee. He put it on the market in March. So is the Venezuelan free agent leaving the Big Apple?
TIE 12
TONY ROMO
NFL, Dallas Cowboys
$16.25 MILLION
Last year the quarterback, who is of Mexican descent, signed a six-year, $68 million extension. His endorsements include Starter, AT&T, Rawlings and Pepsi.
TIE 14
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA
NASCAR, Chip Ganassi Racing
$16 MILLION
The Colombian driver's move to NASCAR from Formula One has been a financial success, but his performance has stalled. He's won once in 66 starts.
TIE 14
MARIANO RIVERA
Baseball, New York Yankees
$16 MILLION
Mo held out, the Yanks caved in: The three-year, $45 million extension the Panamanian signed last December makes him the bigs' highest-paid closer.
TIE 16
VLADIMIR GUERRERO
Baseball, Los Angeles Angels
$15.25 MILLION
The Dominican star is in the final season of his backloaded five-year, $70 million deal. The Angels can pick up his option year for $15 million.
TIE 16
MAGGLIO ORDOÑEZ
Baseball, Detroit Tigers
$15.25 MILLION
International incident? The slugger's construction firm in his native Venezuela reportedly has ties with the leftist government.
18
ARAMIS RAMIREZ
Baseball, Chicago Cubs
$14.25 MILLION
The highest-paid Cubs—the Dominican Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Zambrano—will earn $47 million in '08, more than a third of the team's payroll.
19
JORGE POSADA
Baseball, New York Yankees
$14.1 MILLION
The Puerto Rican--born catcher lends his name to Jorge Cabernet ($14 a bottle) to fund research into a birth defect that afflicts his son, Jorge Jr.
20
ALFONSO SORIANO
Baseball, Chicago Cubs
$13.75 MILLION
A Dominican who speaks some Japanese, Soriano will earn $18 million a season over the last five years of his eight-year deal, which runs through 2014.
21
ADRIAN BELTRE
Baseball, Seattle Mariners
$13.65 MILLION
The Dominican third baseman's $13.4 million salary in '08 is the second highest on the Mariners. Playing with a bum thumb, he still led the M's in homers.
TIE 22
RAFAEL FURCAL
Baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers
$13.25 MILLION
The Dominican shortstop and L.A.'s two other highest-paid players, Jason Schmidt and Andruw Jones, have all spent at least a month on the DL this year.
TIE 22
IVAN RODRIGUEZ
Baseball, New York Yankees
$13.25 MILLION
Now in the option year of the four-year, $40 million deal he signed in '04, Rodriguez may be gone when his countryman Posada returns in '09.
TIE 22
MIGUEL TEJADA
Baseball, Houston Astros
$13.25 MILLION
The Astros signed the Dominican shortstop last December, inheriting the six-year, $72 million deal he signed with the Orioles in '03.
25
MIKE LOWELL
Baseball, Boston Red Sox
$13 MILLION
Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Miami, Lowell re-upped with the Sox for three years and $37.5 million last November after being wooed by the Yankees.
26
MANU GINOBILI
Basketball, San Antonio Spurs
$12.9 MILLION
In '09--10 the Argentine slasher will become the first Latino NBA player (along with Denver's Brazilian center, Nene) to earn more than $10 million in salary.
27
CARLOS LEE
Baseball, Houston Astros
$12.75 MILLION
The Panamanian outfielder and cattle rancher is also a luxury-car enthusiast: His fleet includes a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, a Lexus SC 430 and a Lamborghini.
28
CARLOS GUILLEN
Baseball, Detroit Tigers
$12.25 MILLION
The Venezuelan third baseman gave Detroit a discount when he signed a four-year, $48 million extension in '07, but he's had an anemic offensive season.
29
CARLOS SILVA
Baseball, Seattle Mariners
$12.2 MILLION
The righthander from Venezuela rewarded Seattle with a 4--15 record after signing a four-year, $48 million contract extension last December.
30
PEDRO MARTINEZ
Baseball, New York Mets
$12 MILLION
At almost 37, the injury-prone Dominican pitcher is in the last season of his four-year, $53 million contract. Does re-signing him make sense?
PHOTO
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (RONALDINHO)
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JOHN IACONO (A. RODRIGUEZ)
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EUGENE HOSHIKO/AP (MESSI)
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MANUEL VARGAS/EPA (RONALDO)
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DAVID KLEIN/CSM (KAKA)
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DAMIAN STROHMEYER (ORTIZ)
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TODD BIGELOW/AURORA (ROMO)
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NIGEL KINRADE/AUTOSTOCK (MONTOYA)
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CHUCK SOLOMON (RIVERA)
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ROBERT BECK (POSADA)
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ROBERT BECK (BELTRE)
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AL TIELEMANS (SORIANO)
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BOB ROSATO (LOWELL)
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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (GINOBILI)
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TOMASSO DE ROSA/US PRESSWIRE (LEE)
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JOHN CORDES/ICON SMI (M. RAMIREZ)
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DAMIAN STROHMEYER (SANTANA)
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DAMIAN STROHMEYER (ABREU)
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CHUCK SOLOMON (ZAMBRANO)
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ERICK W. RASCO (DELGADO)
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DAVID E. KLUTHO (PUJOLS)
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BRAD MANGIN (GUERRERO)
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JOHN BIEVER (ORDONEZ)
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JOHN BIEVER (A. RAMIREZ)
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TOMASSO DE ROSA/US PRESSWIRE (FURCAL)
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JOHN IACONO (I. RODRIGUEZ)
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GREG NELSON (TEJADA)
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CHUCK SOLOMON (GUILLEN)
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ELAINE THOMPSON/AP (SILVA)
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HEINZ KLUETMEIER (MARTINEZ)