Forbes has compiled a list of the highest-paid athletes of the decade. The leader was multiple boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather, who has earned over $ 915 million over the past 10 years. The top 3 included two legendary football players – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – leaving the legendary golfer Tiger Woods at sixth place.
In the early 2000s, Tiger Woods was the only athlete in the world to earn more than $ 80 million a year, but much has changed since then. According to Forbes estimates, Woods earned $ 615 million over a decade.
Boxer Mayweather, the leader of the list, is noteworthy for earning hundreds of millions without payouts from the team owner or sponsorship deals. He began to earn after in 2006 he broke the contract with the promotion company Top Rank and began to organize the battles through Mayweather Promotions. An additional driver of his fees were spectacular fights with Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor. They became the most profitable fights in the history of sports: boxing fans paid a total of 10 million times to watch them.
Cristiano Ronaldo earned $800 million in a decade, Lionel Messi $750 million. The ability to work and the title of athletes, who over the past 12 years alternately received the FIFA Golden Ball 11 times, forced the clubs to regularly increase their salaries, and advertisers to sign contracts with them. In 2019, Messi received $92 million from Barcelona and became the highest-paid athlete of the year with a combined income of $127 million.
- The top 10 places are occupied by boxer Manny Pacquiao ($ 435 million), basketball player Kevin Durant ($ 425 million) and six-time Formula 1 champion, racing driver Lewis Hamilton ($ 400 million).
- No sportsman from baseball, American football and hockey was included in the ranking.
- The only woman in the top 40 of the highest paid athletes of the decade is tennis player Serena Williams ($ 215 million).
