Rory McIlroy Net Worth: Highest Paid Golfer Earned $30M Just From Endorsements

Rory McIlroy is one of golf’s superstars and he is also one of the highest paid on and off the course.

McIlroy burst into the scene when he won the World Championship for ages 9 and 10. When he was 15 years old, he was playing with other young protégés of the European Team who won the Junior Ryder Cup, per Celebrity Net Worth. Since then, he has won other titles and participated in tournaments for his age group.

In 2007, he became a professional golfer. The Holywood, Northern Ireland native would crash the world rankings later, being named the 39th best player in the world by the end of 2008. Many compared his fast rise to another golf legend, Tiger Woods, who also climbed the rankings quickly even at a young age. The two of them are the only golfers to win a PGA Tour event before celebrating their 21st birthday.

In 2012, McIlroy became the best golfer in the world but it was not easy as he had to go through many ups and downs. He bagged different hardware in the years that followed, solidifying his status as one of the sport’s superstars.

As someone who started his career young, McIlroy has expectedly expanded his bank account as well. According to Forbes, he has a net worth of $150 million from tournament winnings and endorsement deals. With the sporting events halted around the world due to COVID-19, players and athletes missed out on major events that could earn them millions of prizes. Fortunately, McIlroy has a number of lucrative endorsements.

According to Forbes, he has collaborated with a number of major brands such as Nike, Omega, TaylorMade, UnitedHealth Group and Upper Deck. In 2019, he signed a deal with NBC Sports to launch GolfPass, which aims to help aspiring golfers improve via tutorials made available in a paid digital subscription service. This pushed his 2020 earnings to $30 million just from endorsements alone.

Amid the lockdowns, McIlroy still managed to increase his net worth despite the cancellation of tournaments. However, his comments on fellow players opting out of joining tournaments to prioritize health and safety drew mixed reactions online.

If golfing tournaments were to resume in 2020 and McIlroy goes on to add trophies to his collection, expect his net worth to increase even more. Experts now await if he can still remain as golf’s number one player and cash king by the end of the year.