Floyd Mayweather Jr AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—He surely lived up to his billing.
International sports network ESPN billed American boxer Floyd “Money” Mayweather as 2013’s highest-paid athlete with the Pretty Boy raking in $73.5 million.
Mayweather, who was undefeated in 45 fights, only fought twice in 2013 against Robert Guerrero and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and earned a minimum of $32 million and $41.5 million.
Behind Mayweather are two footballers who have defined an era, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, earned $50.2 million in 2013, while Messi, a four-time Ballon d’Or winner, earned a close $50.1 million.
Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Greenbay Packers of the National Football League, was the fourth athlete on the list, raking in $40 million in 2013 from the team that drafted him.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who plays striker for French club Paris Saint-Germain at Ligue 1, rounded out the top 5 after earning $35 million in 2013.
For basketball aficionados, only Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant made the top 25 list with a $30.5 million pay from the franchise in 2013.
According to ESPN, the Los Angeles Dodgers of the Major League Baseball was the best-paying sports team in 2013 shelling out $241,128,402 with another baseball power, the New York Yankees, in second with a payroll worth $208,830,659.
English football club Manchester City of the Premier League was the third best-paying team in sports in 2013 with a payroll of $202,747,812.
Spain’s La Liga giants Fc Barcelona and Real Madrid took the fourth and fifth spot with payrolls worth $193,610,600 and $189,660,944.
ESPN’s data were all based on salaries and excluded all sponsor and commercial deals.
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