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Women missing from Forbes' highest-paid athletes of 2018

By Alex Butler
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
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 | License Photo

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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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