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Ndamukong Suh, Matthew Stafford Make Forbes' Highest-Paid Athletes List

"We're rich!"
"We're rich!"

Earlier this week, Forbes released its annual list of the highest-paid athletes. The numbers are based on salary/winnings and endorsements, and the Detroit Lions had two players make the list: defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and quarterback Matthew Stafford. These players, of course, were the Lions' top picks in the 2010 and 2009 drafts, respectively.

Suh checked in at No. 14 on the list. His total earnings for the last year were $36 million, which is based on $35.5 million in salary and $500,000 in endorsements.

Matthew Stafford is farther down the list at No. 58. His total earnings for the last year were an estimated $20.9 million. Surprisingly, $1 million of that is from endorsements. The other $19.9 million is from salary.

It's worth noting that these numbers are strictly based on earnings from June 2011 to June 2012, so career earnings aren't factored into the rankings of the highest-paid athletes. It's based on a one-year window.

Considering how much he is set to make in the next year, I'd imagine we'll be seeing Calvin Johnson on the 2013 version of this list.

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