After vunjaing the World record in the 100m, 200m, 4 x 100m relay in Beijing, Usain bolt was the jina on everyone’s lips. From a simple, unassuming sprinter, Bolt immediately inked endorsement deals with Gatorade, Swiss watchmaker Hublot and Virgin Media after Beijing.

Bolt earned $20.3 million (Ksh1.7billion) over the last 12-months from prize money, bonuses, appearance fees and sponsors. Bolt has some way to go to challenge LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in terms of earnings, but his income is more than 20 times what other elite athletes typically make in a year! I bet Kemboi is not dancing reading this now!

Bolt’s biggest paycheck comes courtesy of Puma, with whom he has a deal worth $9 million annually. In contrast, a massive Nike deal for a football or baseball player is a mere $1 million.

While prize money is small, Bolt’s ultimate running payday is often huge thanks to appearance fees. If you want Usain bolt to appear in a track event he will start negotiations at $200,000 and can reach $350,000 for a big meet! No need to say, he will not be gracing Kasarani anytime soon!

Bolt commands the huge sums because he guarantees a sellout crowd when competing. The 100-meter final was the hottest ticket going into the London Olympics. London 2012 organizers received more than one million requests for tickets for the event with prices set at $1,130 (Ksh 96,000). That is about 10k for second that you get to witness Bolt running!

In addition, Soul Electronics signed a deal with Bolt this year and he will develop his own line of headphones for the company. Dr. Dre and 50 Cent eat your sorry hearts out!