It pays to play for the Yankees.
Not only are the Bronx Bombers defending World Series champions, but an astounding five members of the team have made Sports Illustrated’s list of top-earning 50 athletes.
Alex Rodriguez came in No. 5 at $37 million, while teammate Derek Jeter came in No. 8 at $31 million.
A-Rod is one of three Yankees in the top 13, along with Derek Jeter (No. 8) and CC Sabathia (No. 13), according to the list.
Sabathia was tied with Giants quarterback Eli Manning, both pulling in $26.5 million from salary and endorsements.
Another two members of the Yankees, Mark Teixeira ($20.3 million) and A.J. Burnett ($16.77 million) came in 35th and 50th, respectively.
Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, who enjoyed a great rookie season last year, came in No. 48 with $16.9 million, according to the list.
For the seventh straight year, SI.com compiled a list of the 50 top-earning US athletes by salary, winnings, endorsements and appearance fees. The average earnings of those on the list reached an all-time high of $26.2 million — up a whopping 11 percent from last year.
Of course, Tiger Woods, 33, had a horrible year as lurid details of his marital infidelity costing the golfer tens of millions of dollars in endorsement dollars. Nevertheless, Woods still took the top spot, despite losing $9 million from a year ago. Woods finished with a total of $90 million.
Fellow golfer Phil Mickelson ($61.6 million), boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. ($60.2 million), and NBA star LeBron James ($45.7 million) rounded out the top four.
Here is the list of New York athletes who made the top-earning list:
5. Alex Rodriguez (Yankees) — $37 million
8. Derek Jeter (Yankees) — $31 million
13. CC Sabathia (Yankees) and Eli Manning (Giants) — $26.5 million
23. Amar’e Stoudemire (Knicks) — $23.1 million
35. Mark Teixeira (Yankees) — $20.3 million
48. Mark Sanchez (Jets) — $16.9 million
50. A.J. Burnett (Yankees) — $16.77 million
Source: SI.com