Boxer, Floyd Mayweather reclaimed his place at the top of Forbes’ annual ranking of 100 highest-paid athletes on Tuesday.
Forbes reported that Mayweather, 41, topped sports highest-earners after banking $275 million dollars from his cross-combat superfight against mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor in August 2017.
With an additional $10 million in endorsements, Mayweather earned a total of $285 million between June 1 2017 and June 1, 2018, comfortably eclipsing the second-placed figure on the list, football star Lionel Messi, who made $111 million.
McGregor meanwhile vaulted up the rankings to fourth spot, thanks to his $85 million cut of the Mayweather purse.
A further $14 million in endorsements took the Irish fighter’s earnings to $99 million, just behind Real Madrid soccer star, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was third with earnings of $108 million.
Brazilian footballer, Neymar was fifth on the list with $90 million in earnings, his salary boosted by his record-breaking transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain last year.
NBA icon, LeBron James was the highest-paid basketball player to feature on the list, coming in at sixth with total earnings of $85.5 million, just ahead of men’s tennis king, Roger Federer, who earned $77.2 million.
Swiss ace, Federer remains the most attractive athlete for sponsors, with endorsement deals accounting for $65 million of his earnings.
Golden State Warriors star, Stephen Curry was the only other NBA player to feature in the top 10, with earnings of $76.9 million.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan is the highest earning NFL player, coming in at ninth with $67.3 million. Ryan’s earnings were swollen by a $45 million dollar signing bonus after he agreed a new contract earlier this year.
Another NFL quarterback, the Detroit Lions’ Matthew Stafford rounded off the top 10 with $59.5 million.
The list of top ten are presented below:
1. Floyd Mayweather ($285m) 2. Lionel Messi ($111m) 3. Cristiano Ronaldo ($108m) 4. Conor McGregor ($99m) 5. Neymar ($90m) 6. LeBron James ($85,5m) 7. Roger Federer ($77.2m) 8. Stephen Curry ($76.9m) 9. Matt Ryan ($67.3m) 10. Matthew Stafford ($59.5m)
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