Forbes has released its annual ranking of the world’s highest-paid athletes for 2017, and some of the amounts listed are staggering.
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo came in at No. 1 for the second straight year, thanks to his hefty salary and endorsements. His earnings increased by $5 million in 2017, bringing his total annual earnings to $93 million.
The list unsurprisingly had striking similarities to ESPN’s ranking of the year’s most famous athletes, including an identical top 3 of Ronaldo, LeBron James and Lionel Messi.
In many cases, the athlete’s endorsements far outweighed their actual salary — most notably was Roger Federer, who landed in the top 5 thanks to $58 million in endorsements on top of his $6 million salary and winnings.
The only woman mentioned in the rankings is tennis star Serena Williams, who came in at No. 51.
The sport with the most prevalence on the list is basketball, with 32 players making the top 100 and four — James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and James Harden — in the top 10.
