Not everyone can catch up with what Tiger Woods has, on or off the course. Then there is Jack Nicklaus with his 18 major wins, which Woods will probably have a hard time matching. One just cannot stop speaking about the success they have accumulated and the legacy they have created as golfers. Joining the two is also The King, Arnold Palmer.

Apart from their earnings on the greens, these legends also spread their horizons to fields such as course designs, endorsements, business ventures, and so on. The golfers surely must be trying to match the golf greats, one of whom might be Phil Mickelson. But, despite all his efforts, Lefty is not able to come close.

Phil Mickelson misses the spot in top 10 in the world standings

The list of  2024 all-time highest-paid athletes has been recently released by Sportico. In the top 10, the first lead was taken by the legendary basketball player Michael Jordan. However, just one step back was the billionaire golfer, Tiger Woods, with his $2.66 billion earnings adjusted to inflation. Following him was Arnold Palmer at 4th with $1.76 billion and Jack Nicklaus at 6th with $1.67 billion.

Among the top ten, no other golfer could get an entry. Interestingly, Phil Mickelson, even after signing the reported $200 million contract with the PIF-backed league, was only one spot away from the top 10. Lefty has made around $1.43 billion, adjusted after inflation. A big chunk of the money came from the LIV Golf deal, his endorsements that are $2 million per year, and $96,572,310 from career money at the PGA Tour.

Although Mickelson’s former sponsors, Workday and Callaway, left him when he jumped ship to LIV Golf, now he gets his endorsement money from Rolex, Grayhawk GC, Intrepid Financial Partners, Melin, Vistajet, and Mizzen-Main. Moreover, in the last two years at LIV Golf, the 53-year-old pro earned around $3 million from various finishes. But still, he couldn’t reach the top 10 with Woods and Co. in the highest-paid athlete rankings.

However, Lefty and his admirers shouldn’t be disappointed because the Sportico rankings in Mickelson’s stand at 11th were inflation-adjusted. If that criterion isn’t applied, then the 45-time PGA Tour is 9th on the all-time highest-paid list, pushing Nicklaus to the 10th and Arnie to the 11th rank. Moreover, in 2023, Mickelson was ahead of Woods and Nicklaus when it came to earnings.Phil Mickelson became the second-highest-paid golfer in 2023

According to Forbes 2023, in the World’s Highest Paid Athletes list, the 82x PGAT winner was 16th with $75.1 million earned that year, and the Golden Bear was nowhere near the top 50. On the other hand, the only two golfers in the top 10 were from LIV Golf. The highest-paid golf pro was Dustin Johnson, whose earnings were $107 million.

Following him was the HyFlyers GC captain, Mickelson, who had earned $106 million and was seventh on the list. No other PGA Tour pro’s name was in the top 10. While Woods and Co. have won more in all of their lives than Mickelson, his recent earnings at LIV Golf have only been rising.