For the fourth time in seven years, Floyd "Money" Mayweather sits atop Forbes' annual list of the highest paid athletes in the world. According to Forbes, the retired boxer raked in a whopping $285 million from June 2017 to June 2018, thanks in large part to a reported $275 million payday for his boxing match against UFC star Conor McGregor.
In the past 12 months, Mayweather made more than double the next highest paid athlete on the list, soccer star Lionel Messi, who pulled in $111 million between salary and endorsements. Rounding out the Top-5 highest paid athletes in the last 12 months is Cristiano Ronaldo, Conor McGregor and Neymar.
LeBron James, the highest paid basketball player on the list, checks in sixth overall with $85.5 million - $52M of which came via endorsements.
The Top-10 highest paid athletes according to Forbes:
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (boxing): $285 million ($275M salary & winnings/$10M endorsements)
2. Lionel Messi (soccer): $111 million ($84M salary & winnings/$27M endorsements)
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer): $108 million ($61M salary & winnings/$47M endorsements)
4. Conor McGregor (boxing/MMA): $99 million ($85M salary & winnings/$14M endorsements)
5. Neymar (soccer): $90 million ($73M salary & winnings/$17M endorsements)
6. LeBron James (basketball): $85.5 million ($33.5M salary & winnings/$52M endorsements)
7. Roger Federer (tennis): $77.2 million ($12.2M salary & winnings/$65M endorsements)
8. Stephen Curry (basketball): $76.9 million ($34.9M salary & winnings/$42M endorsements)
9. Matt Ryan (football): $67.3 million
10. Matthew Stafford (football): $59.5 million
For the first time ever since Forbes started compiling the world's 100 highest paid athletes, there is not a single woman on the list.
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