Forbes Reveals The Highest-Paid Athletes Of The Decade
— Updated on 13 May 2021

Forbes Reveals The Highest-Paid Athletes Of The Decade

— Updated on 13 May 2021
Garry Lu
WORDS BY
Garry Lu

It pays to be at the top of your field – something that I’m willing to say rings twice as true in the world of sports. Forbes recently revealed what the highest-paid athletes of the decade earned, and you may want to sit down for this one.

Check it out now.

  1. Floyd Mayweather (Boxing) – US$915 million
    Mayweather pocketed more than US$500 million combined for his 2015 and 2017 fights versus Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor.

  2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer) – US$800 million
    Ronaldo’s endorsement partners benefit from his massive Instagram and Facebook followings, which both rank as the biggest of any person on the planet.”

  3. Lionel Messi (Soccer) – US$750 million
    Messi’s 2019 playing salary for Barcelona is the highest of any athlete across all team sports.

  4. LeBron James (Basketball) – US$680 million
    James has made more than twice as much from endorsements during his first 16 years in the NBA, compared to his US$270 million in playing salary.

  5. Roger Federer (Tennis) – US$640 million
    Federer, 38, is on the back end of his tennis career, but his earnings will stay high on the back of a 10-year, US$300 million deal with Uniqlo inked in 2018.”

  6. Tiger Wood (Golf) – US$615 million
    Tiger averaged only 10 PGA Tour events per year during the 2010s, but his endorsement earnings for the decade were tops among athletes.

  7. Phil Mickelson (Golf) – US$480 million
    Mickelson nabbed the biggest paycheck of his career in 2018 when he defeated his longtime rival Woods in an exhibition for a $9 million purse.

  8. Manny Pacquiao (Boxing) – US$435 million
    Pacquiao’s 25 pay-per-view fights have generated 20 million buys and an estimated US$1.3 billion in revenue.”

  9. Kevin Durant (Basketball) – US$425 million
    Durant’s annual earnings from his salary and endorsements jumped 400% during the course of the decade.”

  10. Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1) – US$400 million
    The six-time F1 World Champion is the most marketable athlete in the sport and commands the biggest paycheck.

Just to make things a little more interesting, have a glance at the progression of these earnings/rankings of the highest-paid athletes of the decade below (once again – courtesy of Forbes).

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Garry Lu
WORDS by
After stretching his legs with companies such as The Motley Fool and the odd marketing agency, Garry joined Boss Hunting in 2019 as a fully-fledged Content Specialist. In 2021, he was promoted to News Editor. Garry proudly retains a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, black bruises from Muay Thai, as well as a black belt in all things pop culture. Drop him a line at [email protected]

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