Professional athletes are making more money that ever thanks to television contracts. The NBA gets the biggest benefit from this. The league's $24 billion TV contract is triple the amount of the last contract. Of course, while the NBA is big business in the U.S., soccer is a global phenomenon and the three highest paid soccer players all made more than the highest paid basketball player. LeBron James is the highest paid basketball player with $85.5 million. He is the sixth highest paid athlete.
Floyd Mayweather is the highest paid athlete of the year for the fourth time in seven years. His $275 million payday from his August boxing match against the UFC's Conor McGregor captured the top spot. McGregor took home $85 million—more than five times his next largest paycheck—and lands at number 4. Endorsements helped both men up their take home pay. Mayweather made an additional $10 million from appearances and endorsements.
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo was the highest paid athlete in the world the past two years, this year, he falls to the third spot behind Lionel Messi. Neymar is the third soccer player to rank in the top five. He made $90 million, with $19 million of that coming from endorsements.
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Let's take a look at the 20 Highest Paid Athletes In The World:
#20. Rafael Nadal – Tennis
Salary/Winnings: $14.4 million
Endorsements: $27 million
#19. Derek Carr – Football
Salary/Winnings: $40.1 million
Endorsements: $2 million
#18. Sebastian Vettel – Auto Racing
Salary/Winnings: $42 million
Endorsements: $300,000
#17. Drew Brees – Football
Salary/Winnings: $29.9 million
Endorsements: $13 million
#16. Tiger Woods – Golf
Salary/Winnings: $1.3 million
Endorsements: $42 million
#15. Canelo Alvarez – Boxing
Salary/Winnings: $42 million
Endorsements: $2.5 million
#14. James Harden – Basketball
Salary/Winnings: $28.4 million
Endorsements: $18 million
#13. Russell Westbrook – Basketball
Salary/Winnings: $28.6 million
Endorsements: $19 million
#12. Lewis Hamilton – Auto Racing
Salary/Winnings: $42 million
Endorsements: $9 million
#11. Kevin Durant – Basketball
Salary/Winnings: $25.3 million
Endorsements: $32 million
#10. Matthew Stafford – Football
Salary/Winnings: $57.5 million
Endorsements: $2 million
#9. Matt Ryan – Football
Salary/Winnings: $62.5 million
Endorsements: $5 million
#8. Stephen Curry – Basketball
Salary/Winnings: $34.9 million
Endorsements: $42 million
#7. Roger Federer -Tennis
Salary/Winnings: $12.2 million
Endorsements: $65 million
#6. LeBron James – Basketball
Salary/Winnings: $33.5 million
Endorsements: $52 million
#5. Nemar – Soccer
Salary/Winnings: $73 million
Endorsements: $17 million
#4. Conor McGregor -MMA
Salary/Winnings: $85 million
Endorsements: $14 million
#3. Cristiano Ronaldo – Soccer
Salary/Winnings: $61 million
Endorsements: $47 million
#2. Lionel Messi – Soccer
Salary/Winnings: $84 million
Endorsements: $27 million
#1. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. – Boxing
Salary/Winnings: $275 million
Endorsements: $10 million
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