Forbes ' list of The World 's Highest - Paid Athletes - wikipedia Forbes ' list of The World 's Highest - Paid Athletes This is a list of the highest - paid athletes in the world as ranked by Forbes magazine. Contents 1 2017 list 2 2016 list 3 2015 list 4 2014 list 5 2013 list 6 2012 list 7 See also 8 References 9 External links 2017 list The 2017 list : Rank Name Sport Nation Total Salary / Winnings Endorsements Cristiano Ronaldo Association football Portugal $93 million $58 million $35 million LeBron James Basketball United States $86.2 million $31.2 million $55 million Lionel Messi Association football Argentina $80 million $53 million $27 million Roger Federer Tennis Switzerland $64 million $6 million $58 million 5 Kevin Durant Basketball United States $60.6 million $26.6 million $34 million 6 Andrew Luck American football United States $50 million $47 million $3 million 6 Rory McIlroy Golf Northern Ireland $50 million $16 million $34 million 8 Stephen Curry Basketball United States $47.3 million $12.3 million $35 million 9 James Harden Basketball United States $46.6 million $26.6 million $20 million 10 Lewis Hamilton Auto racing England $46 million $38 million $8 million 2016 list The 2016 list : Rank Name Sport Nation Total Salary / Winnings Endorsements Cristiano Ronaldo Association football Portugal $88 million $56 million $32 million Lionel Messi Association football Argentina $81.4 million $53.4 million $28 million LeBron James Basketball United States $77.2 million $23.2 million $54 million Roger Federer Tennis Switzerland $67.8 million $7.8 million $60 million 5 Kevin Durant Basketball United States $56.2 million $20.2 million $36 million 6 Novak Djokovic Tennis Serbia $55.8 million $21.8 million $34 million 7 Cam Newton American football United States $53.1 million $41.1 million $12 million 8 Phil Mickelson Golf United States $52.9 million $2.9 million $50 million 9 Jordan Spieth Golf United States $52.8 million $20.8 million $32 million 10 Kobe Bryant Basketball United States $50 million $25 million $25 million 2015 list The 2015 list was released on 10 June 2015. Rank Name Sport Nation Total Salary / Winnings Endorsements Floyd Mayweather Jr. Boxing United States $300 million $285 million $15 million Manny Pacquiao Boxing Philippines $160 million $148 million $12 million Cristiano Ronaldo Association football Portugal $79.6 million $52.6 million $27 million Lionel Messi Association football Argentina $73.8 million $51.8 million $22 million 5 Roger Federer Tennis Switzerland $67 million $9 million $58 million 6 LeBron James Basketball United States $64.8 million $20.8 million $44 million 7 Kevin Durant Basketball United States $54.1 million $19.1 million $35 million 8 Phil Mickelson Golf United States $50.8 million $2.8 million $48 million 9 Tiger Woods Golf United States $50.6 million $0.6 million $50 million 10 Kobe Bryant Basketball United States $49.5 million $23.5 million $26 million 2014 list The 2014 list was released on 11 June 2014. Rank Name Sport Nation Total Salary / Winnings Endorsements Floyd Mayweather Jr. Boxing United States $105 million $105 million $0 Cristiano Ronaldo Association football Portugal $80 million $52 million $28 million LeBron James Basketball United States $72.3 million $19.3 million $53 million Lionel Messi Association football Argentina $64.7 million $41.7 million $23 million 5 Kobe Bryant Basketball United States $61.5 million $30.5 million $31 million 6 Tiger Woods Golf United States $61.2 million $6.2 million $55 million 7 Roger Federer Tennis Switzerland $56.2 million $4.2 million $52 million 8 Phil Mickelson Golf United States $53.2 million $5.2 million $48 million 9 Rafael Nadal Tennis Spain $44.5 million $14.5 million $30 million 10 Matt Ryan American football United States $43.8 million $42 million $1.8 million 2013 list The 2013 list was released on 5 June 2013. Rank Name Sport Nation Total Salary / Winnings Endorsements Tiger Woods Golf United States $78.1 million $13.1 million $65 million Roger Federer Tennis Switzerland $71.5 million $6.5 million $65 million Kobe Bryant Basketball United States $61.9 million $27.9 million $34 million LeBron James Basketball United States $59.8 million $17.8 million $42 million 5 Drew Brees American football United States $51 million $40 million $11 million 6 Aaron Rodgers American football United States $49 million $43 million $6 million 7 Phil Mickelson Golf United States $48.7 million $4.7 million $44 million 8 David Beckham Association football England $47.2 million $5.2 million $42 million 9 Cristiano Ronaldo Association football Portugal $44 million $23 million $21 million 10 Lionel Messi Association football Argentina $41.3 million $20.3 million $21 million 2012 list The 2012 list was released on 18 June 2012. Rank Name Sport Nationality Total earnings Salary / winnings Endorsements Floyd Mayweather Jr. Boxing United States $85 million $85 million $0 Manny Pacquiao Boxing Philippines $62 million $56 million $6 million Tiger Woods Golf United States $59.4 million $4.4 million $55 million LeBron James Basketball United States $53 million $13 million $40 million 5 Roger Federer Tennis Switzerland $52.7 million $7.7 million $45 million 6 Kobe Bryant Basketball United States $52.3 million $20.3 million $32 million 7 Phil Mickelson Golf United States $47.8 million $4.8 million $43 million 8 David Beckham Association football England $46 million $9 million $37 million 9 Cristiano Ronaldo Association football Portugal $42.5 million $20.5 million $22 million 10 Peyton Manning American football United States $42.4 million $32.4 million $10 million See also List of professional sports leagues by revenue References Jump up ^ `` The World 's Highest - Paid Athletes 2017 ''. Forbes. Retrieved August 27, 2018. Jump up ^ `` The World 's Highest - Paid Athletes 2016 ''. Forbes. Retrieved August 27, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Forbes Announces 2015 List Of The World 's 100 Highest - Paid Athletes ''. Forbes. Retrieved 16 July 2016. Jump up ^ `` Floyd Mayweather Heads 2014 List Of The World 's Highest - Paid Athletes ''. Forbes. Retrieved 16 July 2016. Jump up ^ `` The World 's Highest - Paid Athletes 2013 : Behind The Numbers ''. Forbes. Retrieved 16 July 2016. Jump up ^ `` Mayweather Tops List Of The World 's 100 Highest - Paid Athletes ''. Forbes. Retrieved 16 July 2016. 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Question: who gets paid the most in professional sports
Answer: Cristiano Ronaldo