Forbes released their annual ‘World’s Highest-Paid Athletes‘ list yesterday, proving once again that we all should have skipped class and committed our childhood full-time to sports.
And sell out to multi-billion dollar corporations.
Floyd Mayweather ($300 million in 2015) and Manny Pacquiao ($160) top this year’s list, which makes complete sense considering their showdown last month raked in more than half a billion dollars.
Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo rounds out the top three, having taken home just under $80 million this year. Around a third of these winnings came from endorsements ranging from Nike to KFC, Armani to Castrol motor oil. He is literally a walking billboard.
FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi ($73.8 million) trails his Madrid rival by just $5 million for a very respectable fourth place. His winnings more accurately hover around the $70 million mark after taxes.
Tennis star Roger Federer ($67 million) finishes in the top five – mostly because of an insane $58 million endorsement haul over the past 12 months – ahead of NBA duo LeBron James ($64.8 million) and Kevin Durant ($54.1 million), who are also showered in commercial deals.
No players from North America’s top leagues outside of the NBA featured in the top 10, and not a single NHL player cracked the top 100. Barcelona star Neymar, a 23-year-old, is the youngest highest earner, taking home $31 million in 2015. Maria Sharapova ($29.7 million) is the highest paid female athlete on the list in the 26 spot.
The top 25 below:
| Rank | Name | Pay | Salary/Winnings | Endorsements | Sport | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
#1 | Floyd Mayweather | $300 M | $285 M | $15 M | Boxing |
 |
#2 | Manny Pacquiao | $160 M | $148 M | $12 M | Boxing |
 |
#3 | Cristiano Ronaldo | $79.6 M | $52.6 M | $27 M | Soccer |
 |
#4 | Lionel Messi | $73.8 M | $51.8 M | $22 M | Soccer |
 |
#5 | Roger Federer | $67 M | $9 M | $58 M | Tennis |
 |
#6 | LeBron James | $64.8 M | $20.8 M | $44 M | Basketball |
 |
#7 | Kevin Durant | $54.1 M | $19.1 M | $35 M | Basketball |
 |
#8 | Phil Mickelson | $50.8 M | $2.8 M | $48 M | Golf |
 |
#9 | Tiger Woods | $50.6 M | $0.6 M | $50 M | Golf |
 |
#10 | Kobe Bryant | $49.5 M | $23.5 M | $26 M | Basketball |
 |
#11 | Ben Roethlisberger | $48.9 M | $46.4 M | $2.5 M | Football |
 |
#12 | Rory McIlroy | $48.3 M | $16.3 M | $32 M | Golf |
 |
#13 | Novak Djokovic | $48.2 M | $17.2 M | $31 M | Tennis |
 |
#14 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | $39.1 M | $33.1 M | $6 M | Soccer |
 |
#15 | Lewis Hamilton | $39 M | $36 M | $3 M | Racing |
 |
#16 | Ndamukong Suh | $38.6 M | $38.2 M | $400 K | Football |
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#17 | Fernando Alonso | $35.5 M | $34 M | $1.5 M | Racing |
 |
#18 | Gareth Bale | $35 M | $25.5 M | $9.5 M | Soccer |
 |
#19 | Jon Lester | $34.1 M | $33.7 M | $400 K | Baseball |
 |
#20 | Derrick Rose | $33.9 M | $18.9 M | $15 M | Basketball |
 |
#21 | Sebastian Vettel | $33 M | $32 M | $1 M | Racing |
 |
#22 | Rafael Nadal | $32.5 M | $4.5 M | $28 M | Tennis |
 |
#23 | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | $31 M | $4 M | $27 M | Cricket |
 |
#23 | Neymar | $31 M | $14 M | $17 M | Soccer |
 |
#25 | Carmelo Anthony | $30.5 M | $22.5 M | $8 M | Basketball |