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          NFL Nation

          Cam Newton made $53.1M over past year, more than Jordan Spieth and Stephen Curry

          • David Newton, ESPN Staff WriterJun 9, 2016, 07:00 AM ET
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              David Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and came to ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013. You can follow Newton on Twitter at @DNewtonespn.
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          CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Cam Newton's meteoric climb in notoriety and popularity also has resulted in a surge in financial status.

          The Carolina Panthers quarterback and reigning NFL MVP ranks seventh among the world’s highest-paid athletes of 2016, according to a list recently published by Forbes.

          Newton made $53.1 million over the past 12 months, which is more than golfer Jordan Spieth (No. 9, $52.8 million) and way more than two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry (No. 69, $23.6 million).

          Oh, and he made more than teammate Luke Kuechly (No. 44, $27.1 million).

          The magazine ranked the top 100 earning athletes from 23 countries that compete in 10 sports. Newton made $41.1 million in combined earnings from salary/winnings and $12 million in endorsements.

          Newton wasn’t in the top 100 in the previous year’s ranking. Much of his jump came from a $22.5 million signing bonus received last June when he reached a five-year, $103.8 million extension.

          Soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo topped the list at $88 million, followed by soccer’s Lionel Messi at $81.4 million.

          NBA star LeBron James came in third at $77.2 million, followed by Roger Federer (tennis) at $67.8 million, Kevin Durant (NBA) at $56.2 million and Novak Djokovic (tennis) $55.8 million.

          The next-highest NFL player after Newton was New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning at No. 13. He totaled $45 million.

          Newton’s $12 million in endorsements was tied with New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees for the highest in the NFL behind Peyton Manning at $15 million, according to the magazine.

          Last week, Newton was the highest NFL player at No. 32 in ESPN’s World Fame 100, a list of the most famous athletes in the world based on a formula that combined salary and endorsements with social-media following and Google-search popularity.