After years of being told ‘money’ this and ‘money’ that, Floyd Mayweather has transformed himself into sport’s top earner.
On Tuesday Forbes Magazine claimed that Tiger Woods is no longer the richest man in the game. After 11 years as the most affluent athlete Woods has slipped down to third in the rankings, being usurped by ‘Money’ Mayweather and his verbal sparring partner Manny Pacquiao, who both made more than the golfer in the last year.
Mayweather accrued some $85m for two fights against Victor Ortiz and Miguel Cotto last year, while Pacquiao claimed some $62m for his years work.
The top 100 list has some notable inclusions with LeBron James coming in 4th, Roger Federer 5th, Kobe Bryant 6th, Phil Mickelson 7th, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo 8th and 9th and Peyton Manning 10th.
The most represented faction in the top 100 was that of the NFL, boasting thirty inclusions. Manning was the highest earner out of the NFL, while brother Eli came in at number 30.
However, there was also room on the list for other sports personalities. The likes of mythical cricketer Sachin tendulker (78), Usain Bolt (63), Fernando Alonso (19), and notoriously zany motorcyclist Valentino Rossi (20) made the list.
There was only room on that testosterone fueled record for two women, though. Maria Sharapova registered in at 26 with an estimated haul of $27.9m, with other tennis starlet Li Na coming in at number 81 after claiming some $18.4m through signing vast endorsement deals off the back of her 2011 French Open victory.
With Mayweather in jail for a three-month sentence will he be able to hold onto his top billing until next year?
