If you still think the Pittsburgh Steelers are a bargain basement bin for NFL players...think again. Forbes Magazine has released their annual list of the highest paid athletes in the world and two Pittsburgh Steelers have extracted enough dough from the Rooneys to make the list.
The American business publication has listed Ben Roethlisberger and Maurkice Pouncey on the list. The criteria for inclusion is 2015 salary and endorsements combined. Roethlisberger, who signed a five-year contract worth $99 million in March of this year, was ranked as the eleventh highest-paid and is ranked highest among 16 of his NFL brethren that made the list. The Steeler QB is listed at $48.9M, with $2.5 earned as endorsements. Big Ben was $600 thousand behind Kobe Bryant at No. 10, but his big bucks are $10.3M more than the next-highest NFLer...Ndamukong Suh.
Pouncey, courtesy of signing a new $44M,five-year deal in 2014, is tied for No. 97. The center is slated to earn $18.9M, with $100K in endorsements, in 2015.
Top NFL Money Earners for 2015:
1(11) Ben Roethlisberger - $48.9M
2(16) Ndamunong Suh - $38.6M
3(27) Carson Palmer - $29M
4(29) J.J. Watt - $27.9M
5(32) Peyton Manning - $27M
6(36) Gerald McCoy - $26.7M
7(53) Eli Manning - $23.7M
8(57) Andy Dalton - $23.3M
9(66) LeSean McCoy - $22.1M
10(67) Drew Brees - $22M
10(67) Tony Romo - $22M
12(70) Tyron Smith - $21.4M
13(90) Alex Smith - $19.6M
14(93) Devin McCourty - $19.3M
15(95) Aaron Rodgers - $19.1M
16(97) Maurkice Pouncey - $118.9M
For those curious, Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. tops the list at a cool $300 million dollars. See the complete list, right here.