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Rory McIlroy signs for Nike - but who earns the most from endorsements?

Rory McIlroy's new endorsement deal has propelled him into the realms of the mega-rich, but he is by no means the biggest earner the sporting world, here we look at the big 10 bread winners in terms of sporting sponsorship deals.

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7. Rafa Nadal £15.5m He may have been off the court for some time and will also miss the Australian Open due to on-going injury problems, but although he is not able to get going on the court he can still bring in a few pennies here and there as another globally recognised sportsman. His career prize money is second only to Federer, and so is his ability to attract top sponsors as well. The record seven-time French Open champion will hope to be back on court soon to keep the prize money stacking up. 8. MS Dhoni £14.3m His salary may be dwarfed by some of the big-name American sports stars and Premier League footballers, but the Indian cricket captain is the highest sporting earner in his country and those earnings will only be going up in the next few years. Being the pin-up boy of the national sport helps, but so does signing endorsement deals with around 20 brands which see his face plastered all over the nation. The 31-year-old is amongst the best-known faces in India and he is also now amongst their top earners as brands awareness grows in such a densely populated market. 9. Maria Sharapova £13.6m We're in and around the realms of what McIlroy could possibly be earning now, as the world's best paid female athlete makes the list thanks to her making almost four-times as much money through sponsors as she does winning tennis matches. That, as we've seen, is not uncommon though and she certainly is cashing in thanks to a multitude of deals, while she even now has her own line of sweets from her company Sugarpova. 10. Cristiano Ronaldo £13.6m As much as players are paid in wages in the Premier League and La Liga, they are still lagging way behind in terms of endorsement deals with Ronaldo the only European-based footballer to make it onto the top ten list for the year. Ronaldo has the biggest pay check in football but even that is overshadowed by his deals with Nike, Castrol and a few others. Many in the industry believe him to be the most marketable athlete in the world, he was ninth in the last top 100 total earners in world sport and can go on to challenge the real big hitters in 2013.

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