Most Australians consider cricketers the most prominent of the country's sports stars, but on a money-making scale you are better heading to the U.S. to play basketball, golf or baseball if you really want to make the big bucks.
BRW have released their list of the 50 top earning Aussie sports people of 2014 and the results may surprise. Three basketballers make the top ten, along with two cricketers and two golfers. There is also a spot for baseball, motor racing and soccer. The total earnings of the group for the last year hit A$164 million.
Highlighting the gender pay gap, or perhaps the lack of female-dominated sports in Australia, the first lady on the list comes in at 39th place. Surfer Stephanie Gilmore earned herself A$1.75 million last year. She is one of two women on the list — the other is golfer Karrie Webb who just crawls in at number 50.
The boys are going to be giving Shane Watson some grief over his position as the top paid cricketer, while to make the major dosh you generally need to head overseas, a la Andrew Bogut, who is in his second season with the NBA and raking in the most dough out of any Australian — at a cool A$16.2 million for the 2014 calendar year.
So if you are spending your weekends playing rugby or swimming laps with the hope to be a mega-rich sports star, save your breath. If these results are to be believed, it's not going to happen.
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