The Top 10 Highest Paid Athletes in the World
Forbes has published their list of the world’s highest paid athletes. The list consists of 100 athletes from all over the world, ranging in all different sports such as: boxing, soccer, mixed martial arts, basketball, tennis, football, auto-racing, golf, baseball, track, and cricket. It's notable that there are no women on the list this year – shining an even brighter light on the massive gender pay gap in the world of global sports that has plagued this industry for decades. Although the gap has narrowed as of late, and more and more sports than ever before are rewarding both men and women equal prize money, progress remains slow.
Women have been on the list in past years, however, most often for tennis. It is believed that Serena Williams, who made the list last year, dropped off this year due to her pregnancy. She is anticipated to join the other men on the list next year.
Which men will she be joining, you ask? Here are the top 10 world’s highest paid athletes:
1) Floyd Mayweather
Sport: Boxing
Salary/Winnings: $275 M
Endorsements: $10 M
Total Pay: $285 M
2) Lionel Messi
Sport: Soccer
Salary/Winnings: $84 M
Endorsements: $27 M
Total Pay: $111 M
3) Christiano Ronaldo
Sport: Soccer
Salary/Winnings: $61 M
Endorsements: $47 M
Total Pay: $108 M
4) Conor McGregor
Sport: Mixed Martial Arts
Salary/Winnings: $85 M
Endorsements: $14 M
Total Pay: $99 M
5) Neymar
Sport: Soccer
Salary/Winnings: $73 M
Endorsements: $17 M
Total Pay: $90 M
6) LeBron James
Sport: Basketball
Salary/Winnings: $33.5 M
Endorsements: $52 M
Total Pay: $85.5 M
7) Roger Federer
Sport: Tennis
Salary/Winnings: $12.2 M
Endorsements: $65 M
Total Pay: $77.2 M
8) Stephen Curry
Sport: Basketball
Salary/Winnings: $34.9 M
Endorsements: $42 M
Total Pay: $76.9 M
9) Matt Ryan
Sport: Football
Salary/Winnings: $62.3 M
Endorsements: $5 M
Total Pay: $67.3 M
10) Matthew Stafford
Sport: Football
Salary/Winnings: $57.5 M
Endorsements: $2 M
Total Pay: $59.5 M
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