Forbes : Floyd Mayweather is world's highest paid athlete
Undefeated welterweight boxing champion Floyd Mayweather is the world’s highest paid athlete, according to an annual list published by Forbes.
Forbes complied the list of the world's 100 highest-paid athletes based on player salaries, prize money and bonuses for the 12 months through June 1.
Mayweather only fought twice in the past 12 months, scoring unanimous decisions over Manny Pacquiao in May and Marcos Maidana last September.
Forbes says Mayweather took home a record $300 million in that time period and tops the list for the third time in the past four years.
His $300 million haul breaks the previous record in yearly athlete earnings, topping Tiger Woods, who made $115 million in 2008.
Mayweather’s fight against Pacquaio broke pay-per-view and live gate records and generated more than $600 million in revenue.
Pacquiao was second on the list with $160 million in earnings, followed by soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo ($79.6 million) and Lionel Messi ($73.8 million), with 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer ($67 million) rounding out the top five.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James leads the next five with $64.8 million in earnings. Almost $21 million of his pay comes from endorsements.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant ($54.1 million), golfers Phil Mickelson ($50.8 million) and Tiger Woods ($50.6 million) are next on the list, and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant ($49.5 million) closes out the top 10.
Of the top 100 earners of the past year, there are 27 baseball players, 18 basketball players, 16 football players and 15 soccer players. There are seven tennis players on the list and six each from racing and golf.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is pro football's highest earner, making $48.9 million.
Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is the top MLB player on the list at No. 19 with $34.1 million. For the fourth straight year, there are no hockey players on the list.
- Scooby Axson
