Floyd Mayweather Jr. (L) poses for photos with Conor McGregor during the post-fight media conference of their super-welterweight bout on August 26 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Photo by James Atoa/UPI |
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June 6 (UPI) -- No women made the cut for Forbes' list of the top 100 highest-paid athletes of 2018.
Tennis sensation Serena Williams is typically among the top earners in sports. Williams ranked No. 51 in 2017, pulling in $27 million. Williams and Maria Sharapova were the only women on the list in 2016 and 2015.
Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. topped the 2018 edition of the list, raking in a total of $285 million. "Money" made $275 million in salary/winnings -- with the bulk of that coming from his fight against Conor McGregor -- and $10 million in endorsements.
The list included athletes from 22 countries in 11 sports. The 100 men earned a cumulative $3.8 billion over the last 12 months.
American Serena Williams hits a shot during her French Open women's third round match against Julia Goerges of Germany on June 2 at Roland Garros in Paris. Photo by David Silpa/UPI
"Congrats to all of the athletes who made the Forbes list," Mayweather posted on Instagram. "You all are true champions."
FC Barcelona soccer star Lionel Messi ranked second on the list at $111 million. Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo -- who topped the 2017 list -- was No. 3 at $108 million.
McGregor was one spot behind Ronaldo, at $99 million. "The Notorious" was No. 24 on last year's list, earning $34 million. He earned more than some of the world's biggest starts, including No. 5 Neymar ($90 million), No. 6 LeBron James ($85.5 M), No. 7 Roger Federer ($77.2 M), No. 9 Matt Ryan ($67.3 M) and No. 16 Tiger Woods ($43.3 M).
"King James" edged Golden State Warriors foes in No. 8 Stephen Curry ($76.9 M) and No. 11 Kevin Durant ($57.3 M) as the NBA's top earner. He also earned the second-most money from endorsements, at $52 million.
Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James lays the ball in for a basket past Memphis Grizzlies defender Marc Gasol during the first half on December 2 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI
Federer made the most money in endorsements at $65 million.
Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Drew Brees, Derek Carr and Alex Smith were the NFL's top earners.
Lewis Hamilton led the auto racing field at $51 million. The top golfers behind Woods were Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw led Major League Baseball, pulling in $34.5 million in the 12-month period.