FORBES : Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid athlete in the world at $88 million, including $32 million from endorsements
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo lands the top spot with earnings of $88 million. Its the 1st year since 2001 somebody besides Mayweather or Tiger Woods ranked first. it's harder than ever to crack and be among top one hundred with the cutoff up $2 million to $20.8 million. San Francisco Giants catcherBuster Posey landed at No. 100.
| Rank | Name | Sport | Nation | Total | Salary/Winnings | Endorsements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Football |  Portugal | $88 million | $56 million | $32 million |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Football |  Argentina | $81.4 million | $53.4 million | $28 million |
| 3 | LeBron James | Basketball |  United States | $77.2 million | $23.2 million | $54 million |
| 4 | 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 |
| 11 | Lewis Hamilton | Formula 1 |  England | $46 million | $42 million | $4 million |
| 12 | Tiger Woods | Golf | United States | $45.3 million | $0.3 million | $45 million |
| 13 | Eli Manning | American football | United States | $45 million | $37 million | $8 million |
| 14 | Joe Flacco | American football | United States | $44.5 million | $44 million | $0.5 million |
| 15 | Tom Brady | American football | United States | $44.1 million | $36.1 million | $8 million |
| 16 | Floyd Mayweather | Boxing | United States | $44 million | $32 million | $12 million |
| 17 | Rory McIlroy | Golf |  Northern Ireland | $42.6 million | $7.6 million | $35 million |
| 18 | Russell Wilson | American football | United States | $41.8 million | $31.8 million | $10 million |
| 19 | Sebastian Vettel | Formula 1 |  Germany | $41 million | $40 million | $1 million |
| 20 | Philip Rivers | American football | United States | $38 million | $37.5 million | $0.5 million |
| 21 | Rafael Nadal | Tennis |  Spain | $37.5 million | $5.5 million | $32 million |
| 21 | Neymar | Football |  Brazil | $37.5 million | $14.5 million | $23 million |
| 23 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | Football |  Sweden | $37.4 million | $30.4 million | $7 million |
| 24 | Fernando Alonso | Formula 1 | Spain | $36.5 million | $35 million | $1.5 million |
| 25 | Gareth Bale | Football |  Wales | $35.9 million | $24.9 million | $11 million |
| 26 | Marcell Dareus | American football | United States | $35.2 million | $35.1 million | $0.1 million |
| 27 | Peyton Manning | American football | United States | $34.2 million | $19.2 million | $15 million |
| 28 | Derrick Rose | Basketball | United States | $34.1 million | $20.1 million | $14 million |
| 29 | Kei Nishikori | Tennis |  Japan | $33.5 million | $3.5 million | $30 million |
| 30 | A.J. Green | American football | United States | $33.3 million | $32.8 million | $0.5 million |
| 31 | James Harden | Basketball | United States | $32.8 million | $15.8 million | $17 million |
| 32 | Usain Bolt | Track and field |  Jamaica | $32.5 million | $2.5 million | $30 million |
| 33 | Clayton Kershaw | Baseball | United States | $32 million | $31.2 million | $0.8 million |
| 33 | Dwyane Wade | Basketball | United States | $32 million | $20 million | $12 million |
| 35 | Drew Brees | American football | United States | $31 million | $19 million | $12 million |
| 36 | Carmelo Anthony | Basketball | United States | $30.9 million | $22.9 million | $8 million |
| 37 | Chris Paul | Basketball | United States | $30 million | $21.5 million | $8.5 million |
| 38 | Cliff Lee | Baseball | United States | $29.3 million | $29.2 million | $0.1 million |
| 39 | Olivier Vernon | American football | United States | $29 million | $28.8 million | $0.2 million |
| 40 | Serena Williams | Tennis | United States | $28.9 million | $8.9 million | $20 million |
| 41 | Justin Verlander | Baseball | United States | $28.6 million | $28 million | $0.6 million |
| 42 | Kyrie Irving | Basketball | United States | $27.6 million | $16.6 million | $11 million |
| 43 | Julio Jones | American football | United States | $27.2 million | $26 million | $1.2 million |
| 44 | Luke Kuechly | American football | United States | $27.1 million | $26.1 million | $1 million |
| 45 | Robinson Canó | Baseball |  Dominican Republic | $27 million | $24 million | $3 million |
| 46 | Dwight Howard | Basketball | United States | $26.9 million | $22.4 million | $4.5 million |
| 47 | Miguel Cabrera | Baseball |  Venezuela | $26.6 million | $24.1 million | $2.5 million |
| 48 | Albert Pujols | Baseball | Dominican Republic | $26.3 million | $24.3 million | $2 million |
| 49 | Blake Griffin | Basketball | United States | $26.1 million | $18.1 million | $8 million |
| 49 | Wayne Rooney | Football | England | $26.1 million | $20.1 million | $6 million |