1. Boxing

If you think a couple dozen million dollars is a fair trade for traumatic brain injury, suffering having your face bashed in and risk having your ears bitten off, then you'll be pleased to know that boxing is officially the most lucrative sport in the world, with world class boxers able to earn over $50 million a year from appearance fees and broadcast revenue alone.

2. Formula One Racing

The apparently bottomless pockets of Formula One teams pay out driver salaries that could comfortably keep entire populations of small African countries fed and clothed for years. The best drivers in the sport can expect to take home salary packets totalling anywhere between $30 and $50 million a season, and aren't even required to pay breakage fees when they drive their multi-million dollar cars into concrete barriers at high speeds.

3. Baseball

The sheer number of games played by professional baseball players in the United States helps them join the ranks of the top earners in sport. In fact, baseball is the highest paid team sport in the world with top players in the MLB earning over $20 million a year in contract payouts. Some have suggested that the magnitude of baseball pay cheques may be compensation for the psychological trauma suffered as a consequence of having to wear tights in front of millions of people.

4. American Football

American football players are ranked fourth amongst the world's highest paid athletes. With annual earnings frequently topping the $15 million mark, the stars of the NFL recognise their responsibility  towards creating sustainable development in third world countries. Many, therefore, make generous contributions to the livelihood of cocoa farmers throughout central America by consuming prodigious quantities of refined cocoa derivatives.

5. Basketball

While the world's biggest basketball stars effectively generate the bulk of their income as sports shoe models, the wages they earn for playing in the NBA are some of the highest in international sports. The combination of being really tall combined with the ability to bounce a ball earns these athletes in excess of $15 million a year.

6. Association Football

It may come as a surprise to the fans of the world's most popular team sport to learn that association football is only the fifth most highly paid team sport in the world. While football contracts can reach vast sums, even the finest players in the world rarely pocket more than $10 million per season in wages. Many are forced to seek out multi-million dollar endorsement packages or negotiate profit sharing deals with their clubs in order to help them purchase mansions, sports cars, wives/prostitutes and other essentials.

7.Golf

While some analysts predict that Tiger Woods is destined to become the world's first billionaire sportsman, his average annual tournament revenue is just a fraction of the income generated by his sponsorship deals. The playing revenue earned by pro golfers is determined entirely by performance, which means golfers can swing between million dollar pay cheques one month and regular white collar salaries the next. Woods himself is estimated to earn around $10 million a year in prize money.

8. Tennis

While winning a grand slam tournament can provide a professional tennis player with a generous payout, even the top ranked players in the ATP and WTA depend on endorsement handouts from corporations to supplement their income from tournament prize funds.  Consistent winners can expect to pocket around $10 million in prize money every year, but easily earn double this in endorsement deals.

9. Ice Hockey

Once the lowest paid, least popular sports league in the United States, the NHL is slowly emerging from the shadows of other major American sports, allowing hockey players to put snow tracks on their Hummers, afford lawyers who'll help them marry their cousins and otherwise join the ranks of the highest earners in sports. Alexander Ovechkin's recent deal with the Washington Capitals set a contract record for the sport and will net him approximately $9 million a year.

10. Cricket

Those of you who think of cricket as a cure for insomnia rather than a sport may be surprised at its appearance on the list of the highest earners in sport. That is until you consider the fact that watching the sport is the beloved pastime of around 1 billion people living in one of the world's emerging financial superpowers. The Indian national cricket team are the highest paid national sports team in the world, with many players now supplementing their incomes to the tune of a couple of million dollars per month a selection of provincial 20-over tournaments.