For the third year in a row, Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo leads Forbes’ annual list of highest-paid athletes with earnings of $275 million before taxes and agent fees, the third best year for an active athlete.
Only boxer Floyd Mayweather earned more than Ronaldo in one year, who earned $300 million in 2015, and $285 million three years later, Forbes writes.
In second place on this year’s list is the defender of the Golden State Warriors NBA team Stephen Curry with 156 million dollars, while the third position is held by the British boxer Tyson Fury with 135 million dollars.
Quarterback Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott reached the fourth place with 137 million dollars, and fifth is the Argentine football player Lionel Messi with 135 million dollars of annual earnings.
Next are Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James (133.8), baseball player and New York Mets member Juan Soto (114), while French forward Karim Benzema, who plays for Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad, is eighth with earnings of $104 million.
In total, the ten highest-paid athletes earned $1.4 billion, which is slightly more than last year’s $1.38 billion.
