NEW YORK (AP) — Floyd Mayweather is the champ at making money.
Forbes magazinereported Tuesday that the boxer is again the highest paid athlete and for the fourth time in seven years. His estimated earnings, including endorsements, for 2017 were $285 million. That stems largely from his bout last August with UFC’s Conor McGregor.
Mayweather overtook soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo, who held the money crown the previous two years.
Soccer players held three of the top five spots. Forbes says 40 basketball players were among the top 100 thanks to a “soaring salary cap triggered by the NBA’s $24 billion TV contract.”
Lionel Messi was No. 2 at $111 million, followed by Ronaldo at $108 million, McGregor at $99 million and Neymar at $90 million. Completing the top 10 were basketball’s LeBron James (85.5), tennis’s Roger Federer (77.2), basketball’s Stephen Curry (76.9) and quarterbacks Matt Ryan (67.3) and Matthew Stafford (59.5).
