Kobe Bryant and LeBron James may be the pretenders to Michael Jordan's crown on the basketball court, but when it comes to financial muscle they have a long, long way to go. Michael Jordan, to most of the world, is still the first name people think of when someone mentions basketball to them. He is to basketball what Babe Ruth is to baseball - although of course Jordan is such a sporting great that he also played professional baseball, too!
As a sporting megastar, Jordan was a natural choice for brand endorsements, and worked with Nike to create the iconic Air Jordan sneakers in the mid-1980s, which are still wildly popular today. That deal alone brings huge yearly paychecks to Jordan. McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Gatorade have all paid big bucks for the Jordan seal of approval. He's used that money to invest in sport, now being a part owner of the Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Marlins.