Jon Lester hasn’t pitched quite like the ace the Cubs thought they were getting when they shelled out a six-year, $155 million contract for him last offseason.
And Derrick Rose’s injuries have prevented him from being the MVP the Bulls thought they were signing when they agreed to a five-year, $94.3 million contract with him after his MVP 2010-11 season.
Regardless of their results on the field or the court, both players rank among the highest-paid active players in sports, according to a new top-100 list from Forbes.
Lester, the 19th highest-paid athlete in the world, was the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball from June 1, 2014, until June 1 of this year. He earned $33.7 million playing for the Red Sox, A’s and Cubs during that time frame.
The new Cub beat out Robinson Cano ($27.6M), Clayton Kershaw ($26.9M), Albert Pujols ($25.9M) and Ryan Howard ($25.6M) as the highest-paid player in the game. Cliff Lee, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Joe Mauer were also among the top 50.
Rose clocked in right behind Lester as the 20th highest-paid athlete with $33.9 million during the last calendar year. Unlike Lester, whose compensation was almost entirely salary, Rose made $15 million of his income on endorsements during that time.
Rose is the fourth highest-paid basketball player behind LeBron James ($64.8M), Kevin Durant ($54.1M) and Kobe Bryant ($49.5M).
Boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao were the top two athletes on the list at $300 million and $160 million, respectively. Soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo ($79.6M) and Lionel Messi ($73.8M) were next.
Tennis star Roger Federer and golfers Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods also made the top 10.
In a past Forbes list of richest retired athletes, Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan ranked No. 1.
