Mahendra Singh Dhoni ranked 16th on Forbes' list of highest -paid athletes !!!

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Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni earned $31.4 million (around Rs 179.18 crore) in 2012 making him the 16th highest-paid athlete in the world on a Forbes list that is led by golfer Tiger Woods, tennis ace Roger Federer and NBA star Kobe Bryant. The 31-year-old cricketer, the only Indian player in the top 50 of that list - fellow cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is ranked 51st - improved his ranking by 15 positions this year, moving up from 31st position in 2012. Dhoni makes $28 million ( Rs 114 crore) from endorsements and the rest from salary and winnings. Nearly half of Dhoni's twenty-five endorsements pay more than $1 million a year, including a three-year deal with Vijay Mallya's United Breweries Group worth more than $5 million over three years, Forbes said. "Mahi has also shown an ear for business by taking equity stakes or key roles with companies he endorses and his own Supersport World Championship motorcycle racing team," the magazine added. He also has stakes in a few other sporting ventures, including a moto-racing team and a chain of gymnasiums. ET had reported this week that Dhoni had picked 15% stake earlier this year in Rhiti Sports, a sports marketing firm that manages him and three top players, raising suspicion about a possible conflict of interest arising from Dhoni's captaincy influencing team selection. Tendulkar has been ranked at 51th place with total earnings of $22 million, including endorsement earnings of $18 million. "Tendulkar is beginning to lose corporate partners in the twilight of his storied career - Canon chose not to renew when its deal expired last year - but his $1.2 million-per-year contract with Coca-Cola is worth more than most IPL players' entire salaries," Forbes said. The Forbes 100 Highest-Paid Athletes list has been topped by Woods with total earnings of $78.1 million http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/off-the-field/Dhoni-ranked-16th-on-Forbes-list-of-highest-paid-athletes/articleshow/20473482.cms.