The star quarterback for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys between 1969-79, Roger Staubach drove his team towards five Super Bowls, picking up two winners medals along the way.

But despite the on-field fame he always had his eye on the bigger picture, working as a real estate officer during the off-season.

After retirement his real estate investments have paid off in a big way, with his personal worth now standing at $600m and counting. It is an eye-watering amount of money that even in today’s money driven sport world most athletes can only dream of earning.

When A-Rod put pen to paper on a 10-year contract worth $275m with the New York Yankees in 2007 it was by far the most lucrative contract in world sports. There have been one or two controversies during his career, but his fortune of $350m tells you who has had the last laugh.

In fact, he has twice signed the biggest contracts in baseball history, the first being worth $252m with the Texas Rangers in 2000. To put that into context, in one season he earned more than most team squads put together. That’s what you call hitting it out of the park.

You would expect basketball’s greatest ever player to also be worth the most. After all, how many other players can claim to have an empire of footwear that comes anywhere close to Jordan’s?

On top of that he is a major stakeholder in the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and reaps the benefits of countless valuable investments. In 2014 alone he took home more than he earned throughout his entire playing career.

Which leads us towards his estimated worth. At the last count it was a cool $1.65bn. But this is a guy who earns by the second, let alone the minute, so that figure is rising as we speak.

It’s not too hard to understand how Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather’ got his nickname. For years he was known as ‘Pretty Boy’ due to his ability to avoid being hit, but his reputation for enjoying the high life saw the new name stick.

If you haven’t heard about his undefeated 50-0 career record he’ll gladly tell you about it, and he isn’t shy about showing off all the cash he’s been awarded either.

Floyd’s net worth currently stands at $400m – a pile of money that will only get even bigger as his boxing promotion company continues to grow.

Floyd’s net worth currently stands at $400m – a pile of money that will only get even bigger as his boxing promotion company continues to grow.

Even if you can’t deal with the ego, you can’t deny the talent. When the goals dry up (which may be never) and he eventually retires, it’s fair to say he won’t be looking for a handout.

To date he has earned $450m from a career that has seen him sit at the pinnacle of the football world for over a decade. Add in all the big name deals signed away from the pitch and it comes to quite a princely sum of money.

There may not be only one Ronaldo, but there’s only one who has raked in this level of cash.

We can only hope that the legendary Michael Schumacher continues his slow road to recovery following his tragic 2013 skiing accident. Thankfully his accumulated fortune of $780m ensures the 7-times Formula One world champion is able to receive the best possible rehabilitation care there is.

Schumacher’s aggressive racing style stirred up a few controversies during his career, but it was part of what made him such an exciting driver to watch as he broke record after record.

Despite his absence from the public eye he remains an inspiration to countless aspiring drivers and is firmly established as one of the best to ever get behind the wheel of a Formula One car.

The first name most non-golfing fans think of when it comes to golf is Tiger Woods. But somewhat surprisingly, he isn’t the highest earning player from the game.

That honour falls to Arnold Palmer, a legend of the golfing world who scooped up all seven of his majors during an amazing winning streak between 1958 and 1964, which includes four Masters titles.

Palmer accumulated a fortune worth $650m before he died in 2016, much of it derived from lucrative deals linked to the licensing of his name. During his playing days he used to order a drink made up of iced tea and lemonade – later known as the ‘Arnold Palmer’ – and once he teamed up with the Arizona Beverage Company, his fortune was made.

Throughout his career Conor McGregor has proven he can back up his fast-talking, swaggering confidence with real action. He’s known just as much for this ability to wind up opponents, audiences and the media, as he is for producing devastating early knockouts.

While the former two-weight world champion made his name in the MMA arena, it was his 2017 boxing clash with Floyd Mayweather that allowed him to accrue most of his $110m fortune.

It was marketed as ‘The Money Fight’ and McGregor walked away with somewhere between $75m-$100m. He’s only fought twice since – but then again, with that sort of money in the bank, why should he have to?

Ice hockey remains something of a niche game for sport lovers in the UK, but the global popularity and success of Wayne Gretsky ensures his name still resonates on these isles.

After all, when you’ve got a nickname of ‘The Great One’ you must have done one or two things right along the way.

As well as becoming the leading assister and goal scorer in NHL history and lifting four Stanley Cups, he has stashed away a tidy $200m. And as a testament to his sporting greatness, the number 99 shirt he famously wore has been retired by every single team in the NHL.

Before you rub your eyes and ask, “Ion Tiriac who?” let us explain.

While you may be expecting to see a Federer, Nadal or Djokovic here (sorry Andy), it is Tiriac who goes down as the highest earning tennis player in history. And even though the others are not exactly strapped for cash, by comparison there’s really no competition at all.

That’s because former player Tiriac has a net worth of $2bn. On the court he never won a major singles title, but the ‘Brașov Bulldozer’ lived up to his nickname in the business world, investing in the real estate, automobile and finance industries to huge success.