Not only did Floyd Mayweather make more money than any other athlete in the world over the past year, he did it in less time.
Mayweather, who has made no secret of his enormous fortune, topped Forbes' 2014 list of the highest paid athletes. The undefeated boxer brought in $105 million, all from his fight earnings and all in 72 minutes in the ring.
For perspective, Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo finished in second place and his salary was only about half of what Mayweather made. Ronaldo's total earnings were $80 million, with $52 million coming from salary and $28 million from endorsements. Mayweather made more than $80 million in one fight.
And Ronaldo spent more time on the pitch each time he took the field than Mayweather spent in the ring all year.
"I'm humbled and extremely fortunate to be recognized by Forbes as the highest-paid athlete once again," said the 37-year-old Mayweather, who also topped the list in 2012. "I'm doing something no other athlete is doing, promoting myself and seeing my hard work pay off in the form of record-breaking numbers. It's all about hard work and dedication which is so important and a key part of my financial success."
Mayweather made his money from megabouts with Canelo Alvarez and Marcos Maidana. His victory over Alvarez set records for the highest pay-per-view gross ($150 million) and largest guaranteed purse ($41.5 million). Because Mayweather was a co-promoter for the bout, he also took in a cut of the enormous pay-per-view returns.
Rounding out the top five after Mayweather and Ronaldo were LeBron James ($72.3 million), Lionel Messi ($64.7 million) and Kobe Bryant ($61.5 million).
Tiger Woods, who finished atop the list a remarkable 10 years in a row from 2001 to 2011, came in sixth with a total of $61.2 million in earnings.
Perhaps the most surprising entrant into the top 10 was Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, whose $28 million signing bonus on his $104 million contract extension boosted his total earnings to $43.8 million. Even though he earned less than $2 million in endorsements, Ryan still finished 10th in the world in total earnings. He wasn't in last year's top 100.
Check Forbes for the complete top 100.
