You don’t have to be a famous athlete to get paid like one.
According to Slam Sports, athletes in obscure sports without the name recognition of a mainstream superstar can still rake in the dough.
Take bowling, for instance. Walter Ray Williams Jr. is the winningest bowler in the Professional Bowling Association history with 47 tour wins. Throughout his bowling career, he’s netted over $4.2 million dollars.
PBA Tour champion Pete Weber has done well for himself also, earning over $3.2 million throughout his career.
The highest-paid cricket player in the world is Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who makes over $10 million a year. India’s Sachin Tendulkar earned over $8 million last year, making as much as $100,000 for a three-hour match.
Phil Taylor is a master of darts, having won 15 Professional Dart Championships and over 150 professional darts tournaments, earning over $7.7 million in his career.
Skateboarder Ryan Sheckler earned $5 million in 2008, while fellow skater Paul Rodriguez Jr. earned over $2 million with endorsements like a Nike shoe and a clothing line.
Ma Long and Wang Hao are the top two ranked table tennis players in the world. They have both won first place in the International Table Tennis Federation’s Pro Tour Grand Finals Championship, and the ITTF Men’s Singles Championship, earning $40,000. Table tennis players can pull down anywhere from $2,800 to $33,000 for tournament wins.
Even fishermen can strike it rich. Kevin VanDam has made more than $4.7 million fishing professionally. David Dudley has made more than $2 million and angler Skeet Reese has earned $2.3 million over a span of 13 years.
