Mayweather tops Forbes earners list

Flod Mayweather (left) and Manny Pacquiao are thw two top earners in sport.

Flod Mayweather (left) and Manny Pacquiao are thw two top earners in sport.

Published Jun 19, 2012

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New York – The world's highest-paid athlete is in jail. The guy in second place just lost a title fight, and the man who held the distinction for a decade is now third.

Forbes has released its list of the 100 highest paid athletes, and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., nicknamed “Money,” is No. 1.

Mayweather, who made $85 million for two fights last year, is currently serving a three-month jail sentence in Las Vegas for domestic battery.

Boxer Manny Pacquiao is second on the magazine's list at $62 million from earnings and endorsements. Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight title to Timothy Bradley earlier this month.

Tiger Woods, No. 1 on the list since 2001, made $59.4 million to place third.

LeBron James of the Miami Heat is fourth ($53 million). He is one of 13 basketball players on the list.

Tennis star Roger Federer is fifth at $52.7 million.

Thirty American football players made the top 100, with Peyton Manning tops among them at No. 10. The Denver Broncos' new quarterback made $42.4 million during his last season with the Indianapolis Colts, even though he sat out the entire season while recovering from a neck injury.

David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy was No. 8 overall and the highest ranked soccer player at $46 million.

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was tops among baseball players and No. 18 overall with $33 million.

Two women, both tennis players, made the list. Maria Sharapova ($27.9 million) comes in at No. 26, and Li Na ($18.4 million). – Sapa-AP

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