With a nickname like “Money” it is no wonder that pound-for-pound boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. topped Forbes’ 2014 highest paid athletes list.
For the second time in the last three years Mayweather has pulled in more dough than any other figure in sports. This year (between June 1, 2014 and June 1, 2014) Mayweather took home $105 million, making him just the second athlete in history behind golfer Tiger Woods—who came in at No. 6 this year with $61.2 million— to pull in over $100 million in a year.
“Money” made his riches off just two fights in the last 12 months—or 72 minutes of work—, making his feat all the more impressive. Mayweather’s bouts with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last September and Marcos Maidana this past May gave Money a guaranteed $41.5 million and $32 million respectively.
That means Mayweather pulled in the extra $31.5 million off additional pay-per-view earnings from those bouts, as “Money” made zero dollars off endorsements within the past year.
Mayweather bested soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo came in at the No. 2 spot on the list amassing a cool $80 million in the past year, which is still $25 million short of “Money’s” pull in the same time period.
No. 3 was Miami Heat star LeBron James who made $72.3 million since last June, which is kind of fitting as he is vying for his third NBA title with the Heat as they take on the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.
Mayweather is likely to be near at or near the top yet again next year as he already plans to fight again in September and again in May 2015.
Sure the whole, he made his money in 72 hours of work sounds easy, but that doesn’t include the grueling training camps leading up to his fights which requires hard work and dedication, something that Mayweather loves to remind anyone who’ll listen on a daily basis.
Forbes’ top 10 list of sports highest earners
| Rank | Athlete | Sport | Total Earnings |
| 1 | Floyd Mayweather | Boxing | $105 million |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Soccer | $80 million |
| 3 | LeBron James | Basketball | $72.3 million |
| 4 | Lionel Messi | Soccer | $64.7 million |
| 5 | Kobe Bryant | Basketball | $61.5 million |
| 6 | Tiger Woods | Golf | $61.2 million |
| 7 | Roger Federer | Tennis | $56.2 million |
| 8 | Phil Mickelson | Golf | $53.2 million |
| 9 | Rafael Nadal | Tennis | $44.5 million |
| 10 | Matt Ryan | Football | $43.8 million |
