Floyd
Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao trump Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as world
sport's top earners for 2015
Floyd Mayweather and
Manny Pacquiao's fight may have been a let-down for some fans but it saw the
boxers' bank accounts skyrocket well clear of the field when it comes to
sport's top earners.
'Money' Mayweather's
estimated earnings of £161million or £3.86m a minute to duck and weave his way
to victory over Pac-Man will see the American pocket almost four and a half
times the top footballer, Barcelona ace Lionel Messi, in 2015.
Pacquiao will make much
less than Mayweather, a paltry £96.5m for the Filipino, but that's still almost
three times the fourth highest earner in world sport, Real Madrid's Cristiano
Ronaldo,
Mayweather (left) is
world's sport's highest earner in 2015 with £161m coming from his Manny
Pacquiao win
Pacquiao (left), who
lost on a majority points decision, didn't do too badly out of it with £96.5m
coming to him
The figures factor in annual gross salaries and prize money
from this year from their sport, not including endorsements, appearance fees,
sponsorships or other means of income.
Formula One takes up the
next two places on the list, with Sebastian Vettel's defection from Red Bull to
Ferrari leading him to rake in £32.2m and come fifth on the list while Fernando
Alonso's return to McLaren netted an income of £25.7m and sixth place.
PSG's Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic is seventh with
annual earnings of £22.6m to round out the footballers in the top 10, with
Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney the next best in 12th with £16.7m.
Lewis Hamilton's current
estimated income of £20 places the British F1 world champion in eighth, but
doesn't factor in the new deal that has been struck with Mercedes until 2018
that is speculated to be worth £30m a year, which which would see him split his
driver rivals on the list.
Mayweather's earnings
of £3.86m a minute for the fight is almost four and a half times Lionel Messi's
earnings
Messi is third in
ESPN's list ahead of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo but it doesn't include
endorsements.
F1's Sebastian Vettel
raked in £32.2m and fifth place when he defected from Red Bull to Ferrari while
Fernando Alonso's return to McLaren netted an income of £25.7m and sixth place.
Lewis Hamilton's
current estimated income of £20m came before his new deal apparently worth £30m
a year
Rounding out the top 10
are baseball players, with Clayton Kershaw of the LA Dodgers and the Detroit
Tigers' Justin Verlander earning £20m and £18m respectively.
Major League Baseball
makes up 14 of the top 25 earners while only three NBA players make the list
led by Kobe Bryant's £15.13m.
Serena Williams' £5.99m
income, reports ESPN, makes her the top-earning women in world sport.
Forbes' 2014 ranking,
which includes endorsements along with pay and salary had Mayweather at No 1
ahead of Ronaldo, basketball's LeBron James and then Messi.
The rankings golfers and
tennis stars, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Roger Federer and Rafael
Nadal, who don't make ESPN's rankings, are elevated significantly by sponsors
and endorsements.
