3. Sebastian Vettel ($33 million)
Sebastian Vettel is a professional German race car driver which is currently driving for Ferrari, alongside his teammate and his close friend, Kimi Raikkonen.
He won the championship title four years in a row in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. This made him one of the most successful F1 drivers of all time.
Vettel left Red Bull Racing team and ended his long-term association with the company after the 2014 season and signed a contract with Ferrari for 2015. It was considerably shocking since he had to activate a clause to terminate his Red Bull contract early.
Vettel was the highest-paid driver in 2014 when he was the reigning world champion. Despite the team struggles in generating faster car than both Mercedes and Red Bull, Ferrari still manages to pay him $32 million in addition to $1 million endorsement payment. This puts him as Forbes’s number 21 highest-paid athletes.
