Tiger Woods is the highest-paid athlete in the world for the first time since his sex scandal

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is back on top of the world - in more ways than one.

The iconic golfer returned this year to the world No 1 spot he had held for so long until his self-imposed exile from the game December 2009.

The American has earned $78.1million in the last year. The vast majority of which came from endorsement deals worth $65million and the remaining $13.1million came from winnings. 

And now the 37-year-old is back at the top of Forbes' annual list of the world's 100 highest paid athletes.

Woods was top of the list for 11 consecutive years until 2012, when he was usurped by Swiss tennis star Roger Federer.

This has been a year of rehabilitation for Woods, who has come out from seemingly self-imposed hiding after the fallout from his multiple extramarital affairs surfaced.

Tiger Woods is back on top of the world - in more ways than one. The iconic golfer returned this year to the world No 1 spot he had held for so long until his self-imposed exile from the game December 2009. And now the 37-year-old is back at the top of Forbes' annual list of the world's 100 highest paid athletes. The top ten earning athletes according to Forbes includes (top row left to right) Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Drew Brees. They are followed closely by Aaron Rodgers, Phil Mickelson, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronadlo and Lionel Messi.