ESPN named him the highest-paid athlete in the U.S., via their recent "Money Issue", and now, Forbes officially crowns Floyd Mayweather the highest-paid in the world, topping its 2012 "World's 100 Highest-Paid Athletes" list.
According to the list, recently released at Forbes.com, Mayweather knocked out the man who held the title for nearly a decade in Tiger Woods, and comes right before his bitter boxing rival Manny Pacquiao.
The list says the undefeated boxer has made $85 million for two fights last year -- Victor Ortiz ($40 million) and Miguel Cotto ($45 million -- putting him at #1, despite being currently incarcerated in Las Vegas. Additionally, he has been a part of the four biggest non-heavyweight pay-per-view events in boxing's history; and maximizes his earnings by acting as his own fight promoter through his company Mayweather Promotions.
Behind Mayweather, as already mentioned, is Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao. He lands at #2, with total earnings of $62 million from fights, endorsements, among other business dealings.
Pac-Man is a pay-per-view star, with five fights each generating at least one million PPV buys during the past four years. He also holds an extensive endorsement portfolio including deals with Monster Energy and Hennessy, as well as longtime partners Nike and Hewlett-Packard. Despite a controversial decision loss to Timothy Bradley earlier this month, his first loss in seven years, he remains a star in boxing.
Tiger Woods, who has been #1 on the list since 2001, made $59.4 million to place third this year. Forbes.com says he earned $4.4 from golf winnings, while earning $55 million through endorsement deals, including a lucrative contract with Nike. Over his pro-golfing career, he has earning more than $100 million in prize money.
NBA superstar LeBron James comes in fourth with total earnings of $53 million -- $13 from his NBA salary, and $40 million from endorsements -- including Nike, McDonald's, coca-Cola, State Farm, and many others. In March, he signed deals with Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins in Asia.
Kobe Bryant came in at #6 with $52.3 million, while Dwight Howard was the next highest NBA player on the list with $25.6 million.
Tennis star Roger Federer round out the top 5 with $52.7 million, $7.7 for winnings and $45 million for endorsements.
Others on the list includes 30 football players, including Peyton Manning topping them at #10. The new Denver Bronco's QB made $42.4 million during his last season with the Indianapolis Colts, even though he sat out the entire season while recovering from a neck injury.
Soccer superstar David Beckham (of the Los Angeles Galaxy) landed at #8 overall and is the highest ranked soccer player at $46 million.
New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez topped all baseball players by coming in at #18 overall with $33 million.
And, there were two women to make the list, both tennis players -- Maria Sharapova ($27.9 million) comes in at #26, and Li Na ($18.4 million).
Check out the full list of the top 100 over at Forbes.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment