10 Retired Athletes Who Continue to Earn Millions

Retirement is equated to a time of rest from labor, but it’s undeniable that it also often marks the end of one’s most productive income-generating years. If a retirement is properly planned, however, a retiree should be able to live the rest of his/her life comfortably. Unfortunately, in the case of many retired athletes, reckless spending has resulted in career savings being wiped out in a few short years.

In 2009, Sports Illustrated published an exposé on how retired athletes from various sports have managed to find themselves broke despite having earned millions during their careers. 78% of retired NFL players, for example, found themselves in financial distress within two years following their retirement. In just a slightly better situation were retired NBA players, with 60% of them being broke within five years of leaving the game. That, despite the fact that NBA superstars earn the highest average annual salary in sports ($5 million).

Fortunately, not all retired athletes end up turning their lives into sob stories after hanging up their gloves, shoes or helmets. Forbes recently published a list of the highest-paid retired athletes of 2013, and their cases prove that it’s within an athlete’s control to continue to be profitable, in some cases, even more profitable, after their exits from their sports.

Here are the ten highest-earning retired athletes of last year, arranged according to their estimated incomes:

10. Pelé / Football / 2013 Earnings: $15 Million

With FIFA’s World Cup and the Summer Olympics coming to Brazil in 2014 and 2016, respectively, retired football great Pelé suddenly finds himself in hot demand. Despite the fact that it has been almost four decades since Pelé last played as a professional, the International Olympic Committee’s “Athlete of the Century” for the 1900s was still selected as Brazil’s most influential celebrity.

And as if it weren’t enough that “The King” was the best paid athlete in the world in his playing years, with his legendary status today have come numerous lucrative endorsement deals. Pelé is currently under contract with Emirates Airline, Subway, Carrefour, Hublot, Volkswagen, Vivo, Santander, and Procter & Gamble.