Photo: WSL/Cestari

It's not news, but every now and then it's worth reminding ourselves of the niche we're in: Surfing is minimal.

A simple element made it clear again today with the publication of the information that Mick Fanning's fortune amounts to 13 million dollars.

It's not bad at all that all your assets reach 13 million, it's a nice number, surely well above the world average and also the average of a rich country like Australia, but how little compared to the top 10 retired professional athletes:

1. Michael Jordan (basketball): net worth US$2.6 billion
2. Vince McMahon (wrestling): US$1.6 billion
3. Ion Țiriac (Tennis and Ice Hockey): US$1.2 billion
4. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (wrestling): US$800 million
5. Earvin 'Magic' Johnson (basketball): US$620 million
6. Junior Bridgeman (basketball): US$600 million
7. Michael Schumacher (Formula One): US$600 million
8. Roger Staubach (NFL): US$600 million
9. Roger Federer (Tennis): US$550 million
10. David Beckham (soccer): US$450 million

There are several aspects that show how small the world of surfing is and how fortunate Fanning is if you look at it on a global scale because, in addition to being a three-time world champion, the Australian is considered the perfect professional: good-looking, polite, intelligent and, of course, with excellent business vision.

An episode of How Surfers Get Paid from Stab magazine puts Fanning up there in terms of his level of professionalism and negotiating intelligence.

On the other hand, Fanning was part of the golden generation of surfing contracts, when they exceeded one million, in the late nineties and early 2.000s and that bubble was created that benefited many.

That is to say, his career as a pro alone has given him the means to make a lot of money; well, that big money pales in comparison to the Beckhams and Federers of this world.

And the question we're all asking ourselves is easy to find on Google: Slater's fortune is 25 million. If you compare the age, achievements, career and even the number of businesses that each has had, Fanning is, in relative terms, better than the best in history.

But it is good to remember every time there is someone in surfing with ego trips or exaggerated "egoism", this world is nothing more than a needle in a haystack.