Floyd Mayweather tops sports stars' earnings
Boxer Floyd Mayweather was the world's highest-paid sportsman last year, according to the latest analysis from business magazine Forbes.
In what's his second year in the top spot, the sports star is believed to have made $300 million. Much of this came from his high profile fight earlier this year with Manny Pacquiao - who himself appears in second place on the list.
Mayweather's earnings break Forbes' previous record, which was held by Tiger Woods, with earnings of $115 million in 2008, or $125 million adjusted for inflation.
"Mayweather received a $100 million check on fight night, but the real payoff came after the revenue figures were tallied up. The fight was a dud in many people's eyes, but it smashed every financial record in boxing, including pay-per-view buys (4.4 million and climbing), total gate ($73 million) and sponsorships ($13 million)," writes Forbes staffer Kurt Badenhausen.
"The fight is expected to gross $600 million once everything is counted. The fighters and their promotion companies will divvy up roughly $400 million, with Mayweather owed a 60% cut."
In third place was Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, with earnings of $79.6 million; his team-mate Gareth Bale is the highest-placed British footballer on the list with his $35.5 million earnings putting him in 18th place. England captain Wayne Rooney was 34th on the list, with earnings of £17 million.
Between them, says Forbes, the 100 highest-paid athletes made $3.2 billion, up 17% from the prior year. Only two women made the cut: Maria Sharapova, in 26th place with earnings of $29.7 million, and Serena Williams, who made $24.6 million and ranked number 47.
The figures include salaries, bonuses, prize money and appearance fees, as well as estimated licensing and endorsement income for the year to June 1, 2015.
Forbes' top 10 sporting earners:
Floyd Mayweather, US, boxing: $300m
Manny Pacquiao, Philippines, boxing: $160m
Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, football: $79.6m
Lionel Messi, Argentina, football: $73.8m
Roger Federer, Switzerland, tennis: $67m
LeBron James, US, basketball: $64.8m
Kevin Durant, US, basketball: $54.1m
Phil Mickelson, US, golf: $50.8m
Tiger Woods, US, golf: $50.6m
Kobe Bryant, US, basketball: $49.5m
Read more on AOL Money:
The UK's richest celebrities under 30
Meet the world's richest women
World richest billionaires: guess who's back on top?
