Cricketers top rich list

Cricket has taken out the title for the most lucrative sport in the country, according to Business Review Weekly (BRW).

Eleven cricketers appear in the annual BRW's Top 50 sports earners list, beating golf and soccer, with 10 names each, for the first time.

Shane Watson ($6 million in gross earnings) is the highest earning cricket payer, followed by Australian captain Michael Clarke ($5.5 million).

Also featuring in the list are David Warner ($3.8 million), David Hussey ($2.0 million), who had both a CA and IPL contract in 2013, retired Test captain Ricky Ponting ($2.0m), current Australian players Brad Haddin ($1.8 million), Glenn Maxwell ($1.8 million) and Cameron White ($1.5 million).

Retired Test greats Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist, both with earnings of $1.5 million, join Ryan Harris ($1.3 million) to round out the 11. 

Lucrative overseas contracts in the Indian Premier League, increased Cricket Australia salaries and personal sponsorship deals have tipped the balance in cricket’s favour.

Meanwhile, basketball player Andrew Bogut is still the highest earning sportsman with a $16 million salary, the largest of his nine-year career in the NBA.

However, he told cricket.com.au on Monday the list is not accurate. When asked whether the figure next to his name is 'even close to the mark', Bogut said 'no, but sounds good'.

"Too many factors involved to simply state a #. Not complaining though, before all the tall poppies have a sook!" he added, via Twitter.

Only two women make the list, tennis player Samantha Stosur ($1.8 million), ranked number 17 in the world by the WTA, and surfer Stephanie Gilmour ($1.5 million).

Top 50 Sports Earners for 2013

1. Andrew Bogut. Basketball. $16.0m

2. Adam Scott. Golf. $15.5m

3. Mark Webber. Motor sports. $10.0m

4. Jason Day. Golf. $7.5m

5. Kyrie Irving. Basketball. $6.5m

6. Shane Watson. Cricket. $6.0m

7. Michael Clarke. Cricket $5.5m

8. Luke Wilkshire. Soccer. $5.0m

9. Grant Balfour. Baseball. $5.0m

10. Tim Cahill. Soccer. $4.0m

11. Jeff Rossiter. Poker. $4.0

12. David Warner. Cricket. $3.8m

13. Brett Holman. Soccer. $3.0m

14. Aleks Maric. Basketball. $3.0m

15. Mark Schwarzer. Soccer. $2.5m

16. Brett Rumford. Golf. $2.5m

17. Matt Jones. Golf. $2.5m

18. Cadel Evans. Cycling. $2.5m

19. Mick Fanning. Surfing $2.3m

20. Marc Leishman. Golf. $2.3m

21. Mark Bresciano. Soccer. $2.0m

22. Scott McDonald. Soccer. $2.0m

23. David Hussey. Cricket. $2.0m

24. Ricky Ponting. Cricket. $2.0m

25. Julian Wilson. Surfing. $2.0m

26. Joel Parkinson. Surfing. $1.8m

27. Aaron Baddeley. Golf. $1.8m

28. Bernard Tomic. Tennis. $1.8m

29. Samantha Stosur. Tennis. $1.8m

30. Brad Haddin. Cricket. $1.8m

31. Glenn Maxwell. Cricket. $1.8m

32. Stephanie Gilmore. Surfing. $1.5m

33. Gary Ablett. AFL. $1.5m

34. Mile Jedinak. Soccer. $1.5m

35. Brad Jones. Soccer. $1.5m

36. Alex Brosque. Soccer. $1.5m

37. Rhys Williams. Soccer. $1.5m

38. Peter Senior. Golf. $1.5m

39. Marcus Fraser. Golf. $1.5m

40. Cameron White. Cricket. $1.5m

41. Brett Lee. Cricket. $1.5m

42. Adam Gilchrist. Cricket. $1.5m

43. Craig Lowndes. Motor sports. $1.5m

44. Taj Burrow. Surfing. $1.5m

45. Matthew Goss. Cycling. $1.5m

46. Geoff Ogilvy. Golf. $1.3m

47. Ryan Harris. Cricket. $1.3m

48. George Smith. Rugby Union. $1.3m

49. Patty Mills. Basketball. $1.3m

50. John Senden. Golf. $1.3m 

* Estimated gross earnings for 2013 calendar year. All dollar amounts are converted to Australian dollars.