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$80M Ferrari deal would make Vettel world's highest-paid sportsman

Formula One is in for a big shakeup next season, as the only two multiple World Champions on the grid are kicking off a game of musical chairs. Just who will end up where has yet to be figured out, but the overwhelmingly prevailing wisdom has Sebastian Vettel, who has already announced his departure from Red Bull, inking a contract with Ferrari worth 150 million pounds sterling for three years - that works out to over $80 million per year.
If the reports are true, that would make Vettel (pictured above with his assumed new teammate Kimi Raikkonen) the highest-salaried sportsman in the world. Compared to Vettel's rumored $80 million/year, soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo was paid $52 million last year and NFL quarterback Matt Ryan got $42 million, just ahead of soccer player Lionel Messi at $41.7 million. Boxer Floyd Mayweather was reportedly paid a whopping $100 million last year, but that's based on how many fights he fights and wins, putting him on a different earnings spectrum.
Those figures are also just for salaries, and do not include sponsorship and endorsement deals - and therein may lie part of the reason for Vettel's reportedly stratospheric salary. In addition to his salary from the Red Bull team with which he's won four World Championships, Vettel also pulls in a large retainer from Infiniti, which sponsors both the team and himself personally. In departing Red Bull, he'd undoubtedly have to sever the tie with Infiniti as well.

1954 Ferrari 375-Plus sells for record $18 million at Goodwood

Among all the action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this past weekend, Bonhams held its classic car auction, bringing in a massive $38.4 million in sales. And this was undoubtedly the highlight.
Bearing the chassis number 0384 AM, this 1954 Ferrari 375-Plus has a storied racing history, competing that year in such events as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mille Miglia and the Silverstone endurance race, where the late José Froilán Gonzalez drove it to victory. One of only five made, the 375 Plus packed a 4.9-liter V12 with 330 horsepower under aluminum barchetta bodywork by Pininfarina. It was subsequently owned by Kleenex scion Jim Kimberly, trading hands between owners on both sides of the Atlantic and was the subject of a legal dispute over its ownership four years ago.
With the dispute now resolved and after heated competition between two bidders, the Ferrari finally sold for £10.7 million, equivalent to $18.2 million at today's rates and accounting for nearly half of the day's sales totals. Other highlights included a 1902 De Dietrich 16-HP "Paris-Vienna" Rear-Entrance Tonneau and a a '75 Lamborghini Countach, each of which sold for around $1.7 million - the latter eclipsing the example that Bonhams also recently sold for $1.2 million.

Hugh Jackman will play Enzo Ferrari in upcoming biopic

Following the success of his latest film, Logan, it seems Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman already has a new gig lined up. According to Deadline, Jackman has accepted the role of Enzo Ferrari for a biopic manned by Michael Mann. Interestingly, this is the second actor with a major superhero role under his belt to be asked to play Ferrari. Christian Bale, who played Batman in the Christopher Nolan trilogy, was originally chosen for the part, but he quit when he felt he couldn't gain the necessary weight before filming began. To us, casting a famous Aussie as a man as synonymous with Italy as Pavarotti is a bit odd. But if Sean Connery, a Scottish man, can play a Russian submarine commander in Hunt for Red October, then Jackman shouldn't have much issue. Jackman won't be alone in playing the Ferrari role either. Another biopic about the racing driver and sports car builder is in the works from a different studio. That film will feature Robert De Niro as Ferrari, which seems like a match made in heaven. However, the subjects of each film are a bit different. The Jackman film focuses only on an early part of Enzo Ferrari's career, specifically the year of 1957. The de Niro flick will take a broader look at Ferrari's life from the 1940s until his death in the late '80s. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.