Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods Top Sportico List of 50 Highest-Paid Athletes of All-Time

Nike's Air Jordan collection is continuing to help make Michael Jordan the highest-paid athlete of all time.

The former Chicago Bulls star is earning more annually than any active athlete even 23 years after his retirement from the NBA, according to a Wednesday report by Sportico.

This year's income pushed Jordan's career earnings to a record estimated total of $3.28 billion, equivalent to $4.5 billion when adjusted for inflation, according to Sportico.

Only three other athletes have earned more than $2 billion in inflation-adjusted earnings in Tiger Woods ($2.88 billion), Cristiano Ronaldo ($2.52 billion) and LeBron James ($2.03 billion), according to Sportico.

Lionel Messi comes in just under the cut at $1.99 billion in career earnings when adjusted for inflation, per Sportico.

The top-ten list for career inflation-adjusted earnings is rounded out by Arnold Palmer ($1.85 billion), Jack Nicklaus ($1.83 billion), David Beckham ($1.68 billion), Roger Federer ($1.67 billion) and Floyd Mayweather ($1.57 billion), according to Sportico.

A total of 13 current or former NBA players made the top-50 list, the most among any professional sports league, per Sportico.

In addition to James, active NBA players on the list included Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Serena Williams, who ranks No. 40 with $680 million in inflation-adjusted career earnings, was the only woman to qualify for the list.

Jordan remained on top of the list in part thanks to his longstanding partnership with Nike, from whom he receives hundreds of millions per year in royalties, as well as deals with Hanes and Gatorade in addition to investments in DraftKings, NASCAR and the Charlotte Hornets.

These estimated earnings do not account for taxes or payments to agents and lawyers, Sportico noted.