9 Sports Superstars You've Never Heard Of
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Sport: Cricket
Country: India
Annual Income (est.): 18.6 million
Famed pretty much everywhere except the US, Sachin Tendulkar has long been India's star cricketer, having started his international career at age 16. Now 40 and recently retired, he's racked up an impressive list of commercial sponsors, as well as having one of the highest salaries in Indian Cricket.
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"Sport:" Professional Gamer (Starcraft II)
Country: Korea
Annual Income: $490,000
It may seem bizarre, but e-sports, as they are known, are incredibly popular in Korea and in neighboring countries, with skilled, strategic gamers earning a pretty penny. Arguably the best player in e-Sports, Lim Yo-Hwan earns a $400,000 annual salary and is also gets an extra $90,000 from endorsement contracts.
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Sport: Darts
Country: England
Annual Income (est.): $1 million (In 2011)
Who would have thought you could get rich swilling beer and playing everyone's favorite bar game? For an elite few, its definitely possible -- Phil "The Power" Taylor raked in a million dollars in prize money in 2011.
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Sport: Australian Rules Football
Country: Australia
Annual Income: Over $900,000 (U.S.) - In 2011
Aussie Rules may seem brutal to any non-Australians, but the biggest brutes get one heck of a payday - star player Chris Judd makes almost a million dollars, and that's before any endorsements or bonuses.
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Sport: Horse-Racing/Jockey
Country: Venezuela
Annual Income (est.) : $17 million (in 2011)
When betting on horseracing, punters usually bet on the horses themselves, not on the jockey. Luckily for good jockeys like Ramon, they get to ride that horse all the way to the bank.
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Sport: Bull-Riding
Country: Brazil
Annual Income (est.): $1.5 million
Mr. Nunes is definitely not the first Brazilian to grab the bull by the horns to rake in millions. But he's bucking the trend by being the most successful.
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Sport: Badminton
Country: India
Annual Income: $7.2 million (excluding sponsorships)
After winning Bronze for India at the 2012 Olympics, Nehwal went on to become the highest-paid non-cricketer in India, thanks to a big deal with a sports management firm. Pretty impressive for a sport that most people play in their back gardens.
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Sport: Snooker
Country: Scotland
Annual Income: $2.5 million/year in endorsements (at career height), $14 million in prize money (to date)
Snooker is undoubtedly a posh sport, and posh sports tend to have large payouts, which is how Scotsman Stephen Hendry made an obscene amount of dough in his 26-year professional career.
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Sport: Fishing
Country: United States
Annual Income: $915,000 (in 2011)
Another sport that hooks competitors with hefty prize packagages, Fishing, has seen master bass fisherman Kevin Vandam reel in over $5.5 million in prize money throughout his career.
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