A Convicted Domestic Abuser Is No Longer The World’s Highest Paid Athlete

Convicted domestic abuser Floyd Mayweather is no longer the world’s highest paid athlete, according to Forbes. Not only that, Mayweather – who has been convicted, on multiple occasions, of battery and domestic assault on multiple partners – has dropped off the Top 100 list entirely.

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Mayweather (convicted domestic abuser) topped last year’s list with a staggering US$285 million in annual earnings. This year, however, he didn’t even manage to crack the US$25 million necessary to crack the Top 100.

Instead, Lionel Messi ascends to the throne as the world’s highest paid athlete for the very first time, raking in earnings of US$127 million over the past twelve months thanks to a combination of footballing salary and various endorsement deals.

Underneath him, 2016 & 2017’s highest paid athlete Cristiano Ronaldo sits in second place on this year’s list, with a total yearly earnings of US$109 million. Ronaldo hauled in far more than Messi in terms of endorsement deals, but it was Messi’s clearly superior salary deal that put him easily above Ronaldo on this year’s Rich List.

In news that will probably shock none of you, no Australian athletes managed to crack the Rich List this year, with no local heroes cracking the US$25 million mark necessary to score a spot on the list.

And in what’s a sadly predictable development, just one woman, Serena Williams, managed to score a spot on the list – all the way down at number 63 overall, with earnings of US$29.2 million, the bulk of which was earned through endorsements; Williams had the third-lowest salary pay of anyone on this year’s list.

For those of you keeping score at home, the full list looks a little something like this:

FORBES TOP 100 HIGHEST PAID ATHLETES 2019

All dollar amounts in USD.

1. Lionel Messi – $127M (Soccer)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo – $109M (Soccer)
3. Neymar – $105M (Soccer)
4. Canelo Alvarez – $94M (Boxing)
5. Roger Federer – $93.4M (Tennis)
6. Russell Wilson – $89.5M (American Football)
7. Aaron Rodgers – $89.3M (American Football)
8. LeBron James – $89M (Basketball)
9. Steph Curry – $79.8M (Basketball)
10. Kevin Durant – $65.4M (Basketball)
11. Tiger Woods – $63.9M (Golf)
12. Ben Roethlisberger – $55.5M (American Football)
13. Lewis Hamilton – $55M (Formula 1)
14. Anthony Joshua – $55M (Boxing)
15. Khalil Mack – $55 (American Football)
16. Russell Westbrook – $53.7M (Basketball)
17. Novak Djokovic – $50.6M (Tennis)
18. Mike Trout – $50.6M (Baseball)
19. Phil Mickelson – $48.4M (Golf)
20. James Harden – $47.7M (Basketball)
21. Conor McGregor – $47M (Mixed Martial Arts)
22. DeMarcus Lawrence – $46.9M (American Football)
23. Bryce Harper – $44.5M (Baseball)
24. Chris Paul – $43.8M (Basketball)
25. Kyrie Irving – $43.3M (Basketball)
26. Giannis Antetokounmpo – $43.2M (Basketball)
27. Drew Brees – $42.4M (American Football)
28. Aaron Donald – $41.4M (American Football)
29. Damian Lillard – $41.1M (Basketball)
30. Sebastian Vettel – $40.3M (Formula 1)
31. Blake Griffin – $39.1M (Basketball)
32. Rory McIlroy – $39M (Golf)
33. Paul George – $38.6M (Basketball)
34. Brandin Cooks – $38M (American Football)
35. Kei Nishikori – $37.3M (Tennis)
36. Nick Foles – $35.8M (American Football)
37. Rafael Nadal – $35M (Tennis)
38. Manny Machado – $34.8M (Baseball)
39. Anthony Davis – $34.6M (Basketball)
40. Gordon Hayward – $34.3M (Basketball)
41. Klay Thompson – $34.3M (Basketball)
42. Carmelo Anthony – $34M (Basketball)
43. Kyle Lowry – $33.8M (Basketball)
44. Paul Pogba – $33M (Soccer)
45. DeMar DeRozan – $32.8M (Basketball)
46. Andres Iniesta – $32.5M (Soccer)
47. Justin Rose – $32.4M (Golf)
48. Joel Embiid – $32.1M (Basketball)
49. Al Horford – $32M (Basketball)
50. David Price – $31.7M (Baseball)
51. Mike Conley Jr – $31.5M (Basketball)
52. Jordan Spieth – $31.1M (Golf)
53. Alexis Sánchez – $30.8M (Soccer)
54. Clayton Kershaw – $30.7M (Baseball)
55. Kylian Mbappe – $30.6M (Soccer)
56. Deontay Wilder – $30.5M (Boxing)
57. Trey Flowers – $30.2M (American Football)
58. Mesut Ozil – $30.2M (Soccer)
59. Paul Millsap – $30.1M (Basketball)
60. Matt Ryan – $29.8M (American Football)
61. Justin Verlander – $29.5M (Baseball)
62. Yoenis Cespedes – $29.4M (Baseball)
63. Miguel Cabrera – $29.2M (Baseball)
64. Serena Williams – $29.2M (Tennis)
65. Geno Atkins – $29.1M (American Football)
66. Oscar – $29M (Soccer)
67. Earl Thomas – $29M (American Football)
68. Jake Arrieta – $28.8M (Baseball)
69. CJ McCollum – $28.8M (Basketball)
70. Kawhi Leonard – $28.7M (Basketball)
71. Kevin Love – $28.4M (Basketball)
72. Justin Houston – $28.2M (American Football)
73. Albert Pujols – $28M (Baseball)
74. Dwight Howard – $27.8 (Basketball)
75. Antoine Griezmann – $27.7M (Soccer)
76. Jrue Holiday – $27.6M (Basketball)
77. Giancarlo Stanton – $27.4M (Baseball)
78. Steven Adams – $27.2M (Basketball)
79. Gareth Bale – $27.1M (Soccer)
80. Bradley Beal – $27.1M (Basketball)
81. Tom Brady – $27M (American Football)
82. Andrew Luck – $26.9M (American Football)
83. CJ Mosley – $26.9M (American Football)
84. Felix Hernandez – $26.6M (Baseball)
85. Odell Beckham Jr – $26.5M (American Football)
86. Otto Porter Jr – $26.5M (Basketball)
87. Andre Drummond – $26.4M (Basketball)
88. Harrison Barnes – $26.3M (Basketball)
89. Nikola Jokic – $26.2M (Basketball)
90. Hassan Whiteside – $26.2M (Basketball)
91. Andrew Wiggins – $26.1M (Basketball)
92. Manny Pacquiao – $26M (Boxing)
93. Saquon Barkley – $25.8M (American Football)
94. JD Martinez – $25.6M (Baseball)
95. Gennady Golovkin – $25.5M (Boxing)
96. Joey Votto – $25.4M (Baseball)
97. Jon Lester – $25.3M (Baseball)
98. Marc Gasol – $25.1M (Basketball)
99. Mohamed Salah – $25.1M (Soccer)
100. Virat Kohli – $25M (Cricket)