Floyd Mayweather has emerged as the highest-paid athlete of the decade according to Forbes.com. Mayweather has a reported $915 million in earnings per the Forbes article.
The annual rankings of top-earning athletes looks at salaries, prize money, bonuses, endorsements, appearance fees and licensing income.
Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao were the only boxers on the list. Pacquiao checked in at number 8 with $435 million earned. Pacquiao’s 25 PPV fights during the decade drew 20 million buys and an estimated $1.3 billion in revenue. His fight with Mayweather in 2015 broke a record with 4.6 million PPV buys and revenue of over $400 million.
In 2017, Mayweather’s fight with Conor McGregor drew 4.3 million buys in North America. Mayweather and generated over $600 million.
A distant second to Mayweather was Cristiano Ronaldo with $800 million.
Payout Perspective:
Mayweather making $915 million this decade is a testament to his business acumen and appeal as a fighter. It also shows that as a shrewd negotiator, he is always the A side in the big fights this decade. Certainly, he is a polarizing figure that is criticized for picking and choosing his fights. Also, his fight style is not exciting. Yet, he is a major draw and one of the best defensive boxers in the sport’s history.
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