Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Michael Jordan made just a fraction of what today’s highest-paid stars have banked.

Forbes has been tracking the earnings of athletes for more than 20 years. The dynamics of the top-earners has changed dramatically over two decades.
Check the Top 5 of both years after the jump…

Boxing was king in 1991 with four of the top 10 earners including Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson in the top two spots, as well as George Foreman (No. 4) and Razor Ruddock (No. 7). The top 20 is littered with tennis players (five), golfers (three) and F1 drivers (four).

Athletes in individual sports ruled the money game 20 years ago. Only four athletes in team sports made the top 20 and it was the holy quartet of Michael Jordan (No. 3), Larry Bird (No. 11), Joe Montana (No. 13) and Wayne Gretzky (No. 19). Baseball, soccer and NASCAR all failed to land an athlete anywhere near the top.

NBA players have seen the biggest change with five players making this year’s top 20 compared to just MJ in 1991. In addition to their eight-figure player salaries, the NBA’s most marketable players (Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard) each pull in more than $10 million annually from sponsors like Nike, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Gatorade and McDonald’s &ndash although NBA owners are doing their best to knock their stars down a couple of pegs with the current lockout.

• Today’s highest-paid athletes:

1. Tiger Woods ($75 million)
2. Kobe Bryant ($53 million)
3. LeBron James ($48 million)
4. Roger Federer ($47 million)
5. Phil Mickelson ($46.5 million)

• Top-paid in 1991:

1. Evander Holyfield ($60.5 million)
2. Mike Tyson ($31.5 million)
3. Michael Jordan ($16 million)
4. George Foreman ($14.5 million)
5. Ayrton Senna ($13 million)

(Story Continues…)
WRITTEN BY Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes.com& FULL STORY HERE