He may be in the twilight of his playing years, but the near-universal adoration heaped on David Beckham has helped him remain the highest earner in British sport, according to the Sunday Times Sport Rich List.
Boxers, golfers, racing drivers and basketball players all fall by the wayside in the global "brand Beckham" that has seen the 38-year-old amass a fortune of £165 million - and that is without his wife's bank balance of £35m.
Beckham's wealth, amassed from endorsement deals and salary payments from his company, Footwork Productions, over the last decade, make him easily the richest British sports star of all time.
But he is still some way off the richest sportsman in the world - golfer Tiger Woods, who is worth a staggering £570m.
Wayne Rooney, Manchester United's current favourite English son, is the richest Barclays Premier League player by £9m, with a personal fortune of £51m.
The striker is ahead of teammate Rio Ferdinand (£42m), and Michael Owen (£38m).
Footballers account for £1.3bn of the £3.2bn accrued by the top earners and make up nearly half of the Rich List , which is published today and includes current and former sportsmen in Britain and Ireland.
It includes 49 footballers, 12 golfers, 12 from the world of motor sport, eight from rugby and five boxers, as well as those connected with horse racing, basketball, cricket, tennis, athletics and showjumping,
Lennox Lewis is the highest paid boxer, whose prize money and property assets give him a personal fortune of £95m.
Motor racing features prominently in the top tier of the rich list, with Eddie Irvine (£83m), Lewis Hamilton (£60m),
Jenson Button (£58m) and David Coulthard (£53m) among the top 12 richest sportsmen.
After a 2012 in which he won gold and silver medals at the Olympics and won Britain its first Grand Slam in more than 70 years, tennis player Andy Murray saw his position at the game's top table put beyond doubt - and his fortune leap by 33%, to £32m.
And despite his tender years, 23-year-old Rory McIlroy is worth £20m, just six years after turning professional. But his wealth is set to go stratospheric after he signed a sponsorship deal with Nike in January reportedly worth up to £156m over 10 years.
The rich list may highlight the enormous financial clout of Britain's top sports stars, but it is a decidedly one-sided affair - there is not a single woman on the list.
The Rich List is based on identifiable wealth, including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies. It excludes bank accounts.
People competing abroad and foreign stars playing here are also eligible, as are football managers and racehorse trainers.