1. Floyd Mayweather: $285million
Mayweather has topped this list for the 4th time in last seven years. He earned $275m from his awards and $10m with brand endorsements.
2. Lionel Messi: $111 Million
Messi is the 2nd paid player according to Forbes. He managed to earn $84 million as salary & bonuses and $27 million in brand endorsements in last one year. Along with having a lifelong deal with Adidas, he promoted Gatorade, Pepsi, and Huawei.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo: $108 million
Next to Messi is his rival Ronaldo who earned $61 million from salary and $47 million from brand endorsements in last 1 year making him the 3rd highest paid athlete in the world. Some of the brands which he endorsed are Nike, EA Sports, and American Tourister.
4. Conor McGregor: $99 million
The Irish MMA boxer Conor is at the 4th position according to Forbes in terms of making money. Despite his loses he earned an estimated $85 million with the help of brands like Burger King, Beats by Dre and Monster Energy.
Also Read: Check Out Forbes Richest Billionaires List 2018
5. Neymar: $90 million
Neymar is 5th in the list of top paid athletes 2018 list with $73 million in salary & awards and $17 million in endorsements. He was signed by the French club in a $600 million deal for which he is supposed to receive a total of $350 million till June 2022.
Also Read: The Brand Values Of Top Indian Celebrities In 2017 We Bet You Never Knew!
6. LeBron James: $85.5 million
LeBron James earned $33.5 million from salary and bonuses and $52 million from endorsements to stand at 6th in the Forbes list.
7. Roger Federer: $77.2 million
Roger Federer two of the four grand slams last year, and earned $12.2 million from the prize money and the rest of the $65 million from endorsements of brands including Nike, Credit Suisse, Mercedes, Rolex, Wilson among others.
8. Stephen Curry: $76.9 million
Curry made $34.9 million in salary & bonuses and $42 million from brand endorsements Vivo, Chase, Nissan and JBL to stand at eighth on the Forbes list.
9. Matt Ryan: $67.3 million
Matt Ryan stands at the ninth position in the highest paid athletes. He signed a $150 million deal with the franchise locking himself through 2023 and managed to earn $62.3 million from salary & bonuses and $5 million in endorsements.
10. Matthew Stafford: $59.5 million
Matthew Stafford signed one of the richest contracts in NFL history and earned $57.5 million as his salary and awards. He also earned $2 million for endorsing brands including Nike, PepsiCo, and Ford.
Virat Kohli is the only cricketer and the only Indian in the top 100 highest paid athletes with $24 million. He earned $4 million in fees from his contracts with RCB and BCCI. Kohli also made $20 million in brand endorsements in last one year. Kohli has secured 83rd rank in the list.
Congratulations to Virat Kohli for making Indians feel proud, we wish to see more Indians in the list next year. You can click here to check the complete list of 100 athletes.
