Jordan Is a Success by Words of Mouth : Salaries: He leads the Forbes list of highest-paid athletes with $35.9 million--$32 million of it from his endorsements.

Playing basketball is only an income supplement for superstars such as Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan, who tops Forbes magazine’s third annual ranking of the world’s highest-paid athletes.

The biggest salaries come from product endorsements, which earned Jordan an estimated $32 million this year, in addition to the $3.9 million he made for playing, Forbes said in its ranking of 40 top athletes that it released Sunday.

Jordan’s contract with Nike Inc. for about $20 million is the most lucrative in sports. Deals with Wilson Sporting Goods, Gatorade, General Mills, McDonald’s and other companies make up the rest of his income.

Jordan, 29, won’t even consider an offer under $1 million, says his agent, David Falk. Since first appearing on the Forbes list in 1990, Jordan has earned $60 million.

No. 2 on the list for this year is world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, with earnings of $28 million. Auto racers Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell are third and fourth, respectively, with $22 million and $14.5 million.

Golfer Arnold Palmer, who makes almost all of his money from endorsements, is fifth with $11.1 million.

The highest-ranking woman on the list is tennis’ Monica Seles, winner of the Australian, French and U.S. Opens this year. She is 10th with earnings of $8.5 million.

Jim Courier, the world’s No. 1 men’s tennis player, is the highest-paid newcomer to Forbes’ list. He is No. 9 with an income of $9 million, only a third of it from playing tennis. Courier recently signed a deal with Nike worth about $4 million per year, joining rival Andre Agassi as the company’s highest-paid tennis endorser.

Golfer Fred Couples, another addition to the list at No. 21, is expected to earn about $1.5 million for playing this year, the largest amount of his career. He will earn another $5.5 million from endorsements of clubs, clothes and other items.

Bobby Bonilla of the New York Mets joined the list with an estimated $6.3 million in earnings, most of it from his baseball salary.

Highest-Paid Athletes

The world’s 40 highest-paid athletes, with their sports and total estimated 1992 income, in millions, according to Forbes magazine

Athlete Sport In Millions 1. Michael Jordan Basketball $35.9 2. Evander Holyfield Boxing $28.0 3. Ayrton Senna Auto racing $22.0 4. Nigel Mansell Auto racing $14.5 5. Arnold Palmer Golf $11.1 6. Andre Agassi Tennis $11.0 7. Joe Montana Football $9.5 8. Jack Nicklaus Golf $9.2 9. Jim Courier Tennis $9.0 10. Monica Seles Tennis $8.5 11. Larry Holmes Boxing $8.2 12. Gerhard Berger Auto racing $8.0 13. Michael Chang Tennis $8.0 14. Steffi Graf Tennis $7.8 15. Wayne Gretzky Hockey $7.5 16. Riccardo Patrese Auto racing $7.5 17. Stefan Edberg Tennis $7.3 18. Greg Norman Golf $7.2 19. George Foreman Boxing $7.0 19. Julio Cesar Chavez Boxing $7.0 21. Fred Couples Golf $7.0 22. David Robinson Basketball $6.7 23. Magic Johnson Basketball $6.5 24. Gabriela Sabatini Tennis $6.5 25. Bobby Bonilla Baseball $6.3 26. Dan Marino Football $6.0 27. Nick Faldo Golf $6.0 28. Pete Sampras Tennis $5.6 29. Danny Tartabull Basball $5.5 30. Roger Clemens Baseball $5.4 31. Dwight Gooden Baseball $5.4 32. Ruben Sierra Baseball $5.1 33. Ivan Lendl Tennis $5.0 34. Patrick Ewing Basketball $5.0 35. Frank Viola Baseball $5.0 36. Lee Trevino Golf $5.0 37. Will Clark Baseball $4.8 38. Barry Bonds Baseball $4.8 39. Doug Drabek Baseball $4.8 40. Cecil Fielder Baseball $4.6