WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.
WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. of the U.S. speaks during a news conference at the MGM Grand hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada September 10, 2014. Mayweather will defend his titles, including his WBC jr. middleweight title, against Marcos Maidana of Argentina in a rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 13. Reuters/Las Vegas Sun

The undefeated American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr has been named as the highest-paid athlete by Forbes, followed by the Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo and NBA superstar LeBron James.

The 37-year-old pound-for-pound boxer, who regularly uses the social media to showcase his wealth, earned 105 million USD, according to the American business magazine, Forbes. Apart from Tiger Woods, Mayweather is the only athlete to earn 100 million USD in the annual tally of the highest-paid athletes. In September 2013, his fight against the Argentine Marcos Maidana set the record for the highest pay-per-view gross of 150 million USD.

The 29-year-old Real Madrid star and Portugal captain Ronaldo, who has been given the Ballon d'Or title, is the second in the list with an annual fortune of 89 million USD. His most recent deal with Real Madrid awarded him 200 million USD. He aslo has sponsorship deals with Tag Heuer, Nike, Samsung, Toyota and his personal underwear brand C7.

On the third spot is the 29-year-old NBA superstar LeBron James with a sum of 72.3 million USD annual earnings. James is the biggest endorsement star of NBA with deals with McDonald's, Nike, Coca-Cola and Upper Deck, among others. He also owns a small piece of Beats.

Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes

Sports StarTotal EarningsSalary/WinningsEndorsementsSport
Floyd Mayweather$105 M$105 M$0Boxing
Cristiano Ronaldo$80 M$52 M $28 MFootball
LeBron James$72.3 M $19.3$53 MBasketball
Lionel Messi$64.7 M$41.7 M$23 MFootball
Kobe Bryant$61.5 M$30.5 M$31 MBasketball
Tiger Woods$61.2 M$6.2 M$55Golf
Roger Federer$56.2 M$4.2 M$52 MTennis
Phil Mickelson$53.2 M$5.2 M$48 MGolf
Rafael Nadal$44.5 M$14.5 M$30 MTennis
Matt Ryan$43.8 M$42 M$1.8 MFootball
Manny Pacquiao$41.8 M$41 M$0.8 MBoxing
Zlatan Ibrahimovic$40.4 M$36.4 M$4 MSoccer
Derrick Rose$36.6 M$17.6 M$19 MBasketball
Gareth Bale$36.4 M$25.4 M$11 MSoccer
Radamel Falcao$35.4 M$32.4 M$3 MSoccer

Also included in the list are Lionel Messi, Kobe Bryant, Phil Mickelson, Rafael Nadal, Matt Ryan, Manny Pacquiao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Derrick Rose, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer. Woods and Federer are two of the biggest sporting names of the century who mostly earned through endorsements instead of winnings, according to Mail Online.

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