Tiger Woods had been the only golfer to become the highest-paid athlete in the world. However, with the help of the LIV Golf money, his all-time professional rival and 6-time major champion Phil Mickelson has taken over the title! 

Forbes released the ‘highest-paid athletes in the world’ list earlier this year, with Argentina soccer player Lionel Messi as the topper. However, with their new article, the business magazine revealed that Mickelson has taken over the position. According to their reports, the 52-year-old earned $138 million in 2022, whereas Messi earned $130 million. 

Phil Mickelson beat Tiger Woods in career earnings! 

Mickelson signed with LIV Golf and currently plays for its Invitational Series, the Saudi-backed golf league. With this move, he lost several sponsors like Workday and KPMG. However, with the $200 million appearance fee he reportedly received from league sponsors, his career earnings in 2022 only increased. 

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According to Forbes, the golfer received half of the offer upfront. And he earned $138 million last year as career earnings, out of which $102 million he earned from tournaments and $36 million from endorsements. Notably, Mickelson surpassed $1 billion in all-time career earnings because of the LIV offer. 

Tiger Woods, on the other hand, refused to sign with the PGA Tour rival league and rejected a nearly $1 billion offer. Additionally, he hasn’t attended many tournaments since surviving a massive car crash, making him earn only $43,500 from events. The career earnings of the billionaire golfer in 2022 are $68 million, less than half of Mickelson’s. 

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According to reports, the Saudi government-funded league offered Mickelson the biggest amount as an appearance fee to sign the contract. However, the league money helped many players to become some of the top money makers of 2022.  

The LIV Golf players dominate the highest-paid golfers’ list!

Like Mickelson, the LIV Golf reportedly paid $100+ million for players like Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka. This helped them to rank above Woods and under Mickelson in Forbes ‘highest-paid golfers in 2022’ list. 

Notably, except the Tour players Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, all others on the list are LIV players. Notably, Charl Schwartzel, who won the inaugural Invitational Series event in London, ranks 10th place on the list. His total earnings in 2022 are $34 million. 

Below is the list of the highest-paid golfers in 2022 and their earnings:

LIV Golf is paying its players a lot of money. If this goes on, do you think any PGA Tour golfers would be able to rank in the top 10 from next year?

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