Mayweather tops 2015 list of highest-paid athletes at $300M

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Floyd Mayweather, Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James are a few of the names that appear on Forbes' list of the highest-paid athletes.

Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao top Forbes' annual list of the highest-paid athletes after being involved in the 'Fight of the Century'. 

The Las Vegas bout generated more than $500m as the sporting world tuned in to see Mayweather make it 48-0 by a unanimous decision. 

And that bumper cash windfall is enough to put the duo well clear in Forbes' findings. The top 100 athletes on the list, earned a total of $3.2 billion over the past year, a 17 per cent increase over last year's list.

Mayweather is atop the list at an estimated $300 million in earnings. It's the second year in a row the undefeated boxer has been at the top spot.

Here are the top 10, their respective sports and total earnings.

  1. Floyd Mayweather, boxing, $300 million 
  2. Manny Pacquiao, boxing, $160 million 
  3. Cristiano Ronaldo, football, $79 million
  4. Lionel Messi, football, $73.8 million
  5. Roger Federer, tennis, $67 million
  6. LeBron James, basketball, $64.8 million
  7. Kevin Durant, basketball, $54.1 million
  8. Phil Mickelson, golf, $50.8 million
  9. Tiger Woods, golf, $50.6 million
  10. Kobe Bryant, basketball, $49.5 million