Top 10 highest paid athletes for the decade
Forbes’ annual rankings of top-earning athletes looks at salaries, prize money, bonuses, endorsements, appearance fees and licensing income.
The top 10 for the decade, which includes a pair from boxing, soccer, basketball and golf, collectively made $6.1 billion.
No baseball, football or hockey players made the cut.
Forbes excluded earnings for athletes during their retirement years, keeping NBA stars like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan out of the top 10.
Serena Williams is the only woman among the 40 highest-paid athletes of the decade, earning $215 million.
Below is the top 10 richest sports person for the decade
#10 Lewis Hamilton: $400 million
The six-time F1 World Champion is the most marketable athlete in the sport and commands the biggest paycheck.
#9 Kevin Durant: $425 million
Durant’s annual earnings from his salary and endorsements jumped 400% during the course of the decade.
#8 Manny Pacquiao: $435 million
Pacquiao’s 25 pay-per-view fights have generated 20 million buys and an estimated $1.3 billion in revenue.
#7 Phil Mickelson: $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.
#6 Tiger Woods: $615 million
Playing Captain Tiger Woods celebrates with the cup after they defeated the International team 16-14 during the 2019 Presidents Cup.
Tiger averaged only 10 PGA Tour events per year during the 2010s, but his endorsement earnings for the decade were tops among athletes.
#5 Roger Federer: $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, $300 million deal with Uniqlo inked in 2018.
#4 LeBron James: $680 million
James has made more than twice as much from endorsements during his first 16 years in the NBA, compared to his $270 million in playing salary.
#3 Lionel Messi: $750 million
Messi’s 2019 playing salary for Barcelona is the highest of any athlete across all team sports.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo: $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.
#1 Floyd Mayweather: $915 million
Floyd Mayweather Jr. stands in the ring before Errol Spence Jr takes on Mikey Garcia in an IBF World Welterweight Championship bout.
Mayweather pocketed more than $500 million combined for his 2015 and 2017 fights versus Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor.
