Rossi's rating drops in Forbes rich list
But he's still the only motorcycle racer in there
VALENTINO Rossi is 51st in the 2013 Forbes list of 100 Highest Paid Athletes.
Forbes claim that Rossi's 2012 pay-packet stood at £14m. He is the only motorcycle racer in the list and took a pay cut from Ducati to re-join Yamaha.
However, Rossi isn't the highest earner in motorsports, that prize goes to Fernando Alonso, who earned £19m in 2012, putting him 19th in the list. Other motorsports athletes who earned more than Rossi include NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jimmie Johnson and F1's Lewis Hamilton.
The majority of athletes in the list are American sportsmen, from sports such as Baseball, American Football, Basketball and Golf.
Despite his huge pay packet, Rossi's earnings have continued to drop from their peak in 2010, where Rossi earned £22m. In 2013, Rossi has slipped 31 places. In last year's Forbes list, Rossi was ranked 20th highest earner with total earnings of £19.2 million.
Monster Energy are rumoured to pay Rossi £3m a year. It's estimated that Rossi is worth over £100m.
So despite his drop in earnings, we reckon he'll still be able to afford to have a turkey on the table on Christmas Day...
