Forbes has released the detailed version of its annual ranking of the highest paid athletes for the year 2016 and not so surprisingly, the Portuguese national team Captain and Spanish club side superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo is on top of the list.
Also on the list is Tiger Woods whose wealth took a plunge and is sitting comfortably on the number twelve spot on the list.
Ronald is however followed closely by his football rival, Lionel Messi who raked in a total of $81.4 million this year.
See Full List Below:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo, total earnings £60.5m
Fresh from scoring the winning penalty in the Champions League final in May, Real Madrid and Portugal’s Ronaldo becomes the first footballer to top the list.
Ronaldo has banked £22m from partners including Nike, Tag Heuer and Herbalife and becomes only the third athlete to take top spot since 2001 following the dominance of Woods and Mayweather.
2. Lionel Messi, total earnings £55.9m
The Barcelona and Argentina superstar has leaped a massive 11 places from last-year’s standings which has been boosted by his earnings from sponsorship deals including Adidas. On the pitch, Messi has pocketed £36.7m alone this past year.
3. LeBron James, total earnings £53m
The 31-year-old swapped the basketball court for the film set when he starred in 2015 film Trainwreck and through sponsors Nike (whom he signed a lifetime deal in 2015), James (£37.1m) is second to Federer in the top 20 when it comes to the highest-paid through endorsements alone.
4. Roger Federer, total earnings £46.6m
At 34-years-old and his limbs starting to creek, Federer’s prize money funds may be starting to dwindle (£5.8m last year) but with Nike, Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, Wilson, Lindt Chocolate, Jura, Gillette, Credit Suisse all in his corner his bank balance is doing just fine.
5. Kevin Durant, total earnings £38.6m
The 27-year-old is likely to be a new face to UK audiences. Durant plays for Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA where he earns a yearly £14.1m salary but boosts his pocket money through sponsors including Nike.
6. Novak Djokovic, total earnings £38.3m
World No 1 completed a career grand slam at Roland Garros and has been the runaway best player on the circuit for the past year, raking in £14.9m through prize money.
7. Cam Newton, total earnings £36.5m
Carolina Panthers quarter-back capped off a solid season by capturing MVP honors and leading his side to a 15-1 record and a trip to Super Bowl 50. Pockets the lowest amount through endorsements of the top 10 with £8.25m.
8. Phil Mickleson, total earnings £36.4m
Holding his own at No 8 in the list for the second year running, Mickleson continues to draw in the cash from Callaway, Barclays, KPMG, Exxon Mobil, Rolex and Amgen which has totalled £34.4m over the last year.
9. Jordan Spieth, total earnings £36.3m
The 22-year-old may have collapsed in style at this year’s Masters but he can take comfort from the£14.3m earnings he has made from the US Open and other various events over the past year.
10. Kobe Bryant, total earnings £34.4m
The 37-year-old signed off with the LA Lakers in April scoring a season-high 60 points. Bryant is the only athlete on the list to bring in exactly the same amount from endorsements than he did from his now previous day job.
11. Lewis Hamilton, total earnings £31.6m
The F1 driver certainly loves the celebrity lifestyle but interestingly in the last year alone, the three-time world champion has earned just £2.7m through sponsorship deals while Mercedes are the ones paying him the hard cash.
12. Tiger Woods, total earnings £31.1m
Another long-standing No 1 of this list, injury has scaled back Woods’ playing time on the course but at least he still has his array of sponsors and endorsements to keep his head above water which have brought in £30.9m of his overal earnings over the last 12 months.
13. Eli Manning, total earnings £30.9m
The younger brother of former NFL quarter-back Peyton Manning, 35-year-old Eli is one of four quarter-backs in NFL history with at least 44,000 career yards, 290 touchdowns, four Pro Bowl appearances and two Super Bowl championships.
14. Joe Flacco, total earnings £30.6m
Of the six American football players to make the top 20, 31-year-old quarter-back Flacco receives the largest salary of them all at £30.2m a year from the Baltimore Ravens.
15. Tom Brady, total earnings £30.3m
At the age of 38, American football’s Brady is still bringing in the big bucks with a cool £24.8m salary.
16. Floyd Mayweather, total earnings £30.2m
A past No 1 in the Forbes list, the still retired boxer has not reeled back on his lavish spending. Earlier this month, the American splashed out £5.5m on a 5,200-square foot mansion in Miami Beach.
17. Rory McIlroy, total earnings £29.3m
Four-time major champion finished joint 10th at this year’s Masters in April where he revealed afterwards that the pressure of landing a career grand slam had got to him.
18. Russell Wilson, total earnings £28.7m
Another American football quarter-back to make the top 20, 27-year-old Wilson signed a four-year £60m contract extension with Seattle Seahawks to make him the second highest-paid player in the NFL.
19. Sebastian Vettel, total earnings £28.2m
The four-time F1 world champion left Red Bull to join Ferrari for the 2015 season where he now earns £27.5m a year. His best finish this season so far has been second place at Chinese Grand Prix.
20. Philip Rivers, total earnings £26.1m
An American football quarter-back for San Diego Chargers in the NFL, the 34 year-old’s career passer rating of 95.7 is the fourth-best all-time among NFL quarter-backs with at least 1,500 passing attempts.
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