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 ''. Jump up ^ `` World 's Highest Paid Athletes 2016 ''. Forbes. Retrieved 30 January 2017. 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. External links The World 's Highest - Paid Athletes List - Forbes hide Forbes magazine lists Companies Global 2000 People General Celebrity 100 30 Under 30 China Celebrity 100 Fictional 15 Korea Power Celebrity World 's 100 Most Powerful Women World 's Most Powerful People Richest The World 's Billionaires Forbes 400 Forbes Asia Australia 's 50 Richest Places America 's Best Colleges Sports Highest - paid athletes Most valuable sports teams Most valuable football clubs Major League Soccer 's most valuable teams Technology Midas List ( Tech 's Top Deal Makers ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Forbes%27_list_of_the_world%27s_highest-paid_athletes&oldid=849590750 '' Categories : Forbes lists Lists of people by magazine appearance Lists of sports superlatives Income of sportspeople Hidden categories : Wikipedia semi-protected pages Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Español 日本 語 Português Edit links This page was last edited on 10 July 2018, at 01 : 33 ( UTC ). 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Question: who is the highest paid golfer in the world
Answer: Rory McIlroy