Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli is in the Forber list of world’s highest paid athlete 2018. Kohli is the only included sportsperson from India and is ranked 83rd with earning of USD 24 million. American boxing legend Floyd Mayweather tops the list with USD 285 million earnings.
Also read: Top 5 Alcoholic cricketers and smokers in Indian cricket team.
To everyone’s surprise the ‘World’s Highest Paid Athlete 2018’ compilation is an all-male affair with no women being featured in the list.
“Kohli, 29, is not just cricket-crazy India’s biggest name but is also one of the most popular athletes in the world, “boasting more Twitter followers (25 million-plus) than all but three active sports stars”, Forbes said.
“This year the Indian national cricket board ‘The Board of Control for Cricket in India’ named Kohli as one of just five players to receive the newly-created A+ contracts, which guarantee an annual retainer of more than USD 1 million.
“Yet like the Indian cricket mega-stars who have come before him, Kohli’s big payday comes off the pitch” where he’s partnered with top brands such as Puma, Pepsi, Audi and Oakley, Forbes said.
Tennis star Serena Williams was the only woman to feature in the top 100 list of Highest Paid Athlete last year, but her prize money dropped from USD 8 million to USD 62,000 this year after she gave birth to her daughter, Alexis, in September, which ousted her from the list.
Interestingly 40 NBA players made the cut in Forbes top 100 list, breaking the record of 32 set last year by hoopsters.
Argentine football legend Lionel Messi is ranked second in the list, whose annual salary and bonus exceeded USD 80 million. Following him at third position is Portugal’s soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo at third position with with earning of USD 108 million.
Brazilian and Paris Saint Germain striker Neymar is at fifth position followed by LeBron James (6), Tennis star Roger Federer (7), golfer Tiger Woods (16), tennis star Rafael Nadal (20) and golfer Rory McIlroy (26).
NBA’s top earner LeBron James banked USD 85.5 million, including endorsements, over the last 12 months to rank sixth among the highest-paid athletes.
Forbes said it was harder than ever to qualify for the 100 highest-paid athletes, with the cutoff up USD 1.5 million to USD 22.9 million. The top 100 earned USD 3.8 billion, a 23 per cent jump over last year.
The list of Highest Paid Athlete 2018 contains athletes from 22 countries, however, Americans dominate the list with 66 athletes making the cut. The sports of baseball, basketball and football had a combined 72 entries.
World’s highest paid athlete 2018
| Rank | Name | Pay | Salary/Winnings | Endorsements | Sport | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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#1 | Floyd Mayweather | $285 M | $275 M | $10 M | Boxing |
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#2 | Lionel Messi | $111 M | $84 M | $27 M | Soccer |
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#3 | Cristiano Ronaldo | $108 M | $61 M | $47 M | Soccer |
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#4 | Conor McGregor | $99 M | $85 M | $14 M | Mixed Martial Arts |
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#5 | Neymar | $90 M | $73 M | $17 M | Soccer |
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#6 | LeBron James | $85.5 M | $33.5 M | $52 M | Basketball |
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#7 | Roger Federer | $77.2 M | $12.2 M | $65 M | Tennis |
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#8 | Stephen Curry | $76.9 M | $34.9 M | $42 M | Basketball |
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#9 | Matt Ryan | $67.3 M | $62.3 M | $5 M | Football |
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#10 | Matthew Stafford | $59.5 M | $57.5 M | $2 M | Football |
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#11 | Kevin Durant | $57.3 M | $25.3 M | $32 M | Basketball |
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#12 | Lewis Hamilton | $51 M | $42 M | $9 M | Auto Racing |
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#13 | Russell Westbrook | $47.6 M | $28.6 M | $19 M | Basketball |
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#14 | James Harden | $46.4 M | $28.4 M | $18 M | Basketball |
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#15 | Canelo Alvarez | $44.5 M | $42 M | $2.5 M | Boxing |
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#16 | Tiger Woods | $43.3 M | $1.3 M | $42 M | Golf |
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#17 | Drew Brees | $42.9 M | $29.9 M | $13 M | Football |
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#18 | Sebastian Vettel | $42.3 M | $42 M | $300 K | Auto Racing |
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#19 | Derek Carr | $42.1 M | $40.1 M | $2 M | Football |
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#20 | Rafael Nadal | $41.4 M | $14.4 M | $27 M | Tennis |
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#20 | Alex Smith | $41.4 M | $40.4 M | $1 M | Football |
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#22 | Phil Mickelson | $41.3 M | $4.3 M | $37 M | Golf |
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#23 | Jordan Spieth | $41.2 M | $11.2 M | $30 M | Golf |
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#24 | Damian Lillard | $39.2 M | $26.2 M | $13 M | Basketball |
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#25 | Anthony Joshua | $39 M | $32 M | $7 M | Boxing |
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#26 | Rory McIlroy | $37.7 M | $3.7 M | $34 M | Golf |
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#27 | Trumaine Johnson | $37 M | $36.8 M | $250 K | Football |
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#28 | Jimmy Garoppolo | $36.2 M | $36 M | $200 K | Football |
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#29 | Kyrie Irving | $36.1 M | $19.1 M | $17 M | Basketball |
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#30 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | $35.5 M | $22.5 M | $13 M | Basketball |
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#30 | Blake Griffin | $35.5 M | $29.5 M | $6 M | Basketball |
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#32 | Ryan Tannehill | $35.2 M | $34.7 M | $500 K | Football |
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#33 | Von Miller | $35.1 M | $33.1 M | $2 M | Football |
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#34 | Anthony Davis | $34.9 M | $23.9 M | $11 M | Basketball |
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#35 | Gareth Bale | $34.6 M | $28.6 M | $6 M | Soccer |
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#35 | Kei Nishikori | $34.6 M | $1.6 M | $33 M | Tennis |
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#37 | Clayton Kershaw | $34.5 M | $33.8 M | $750 K | Baseball |
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#38 | Carmelo Anthony | $33.2 M | $26.2 M | $7 M | Basketball |
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#39 | Fernando Alonso | $33 M | $32 M | $1 M | Auto Racing |
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#39 | Demar DeRozan | $33 M | $27.5 M | $5.5 M | Basketball |
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#41 | Chris Paul | $31.9 M | $24.9 M | $7 M | Basketball |
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#42 | Paul Millsap | $31.8 M | $31.3 M | $500 K | Basketball |
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#42 | Dwyane Wade | $31.8 M | $17.8 M | $14 M | Basketball |
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#44 | Klay Thompson | $31.1 M | $18.1 M | $13 M | Basketball |
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#45 | Usain Bolt | $31 M | $1 M | $30 M | Track |
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#46 | Gordon Hayward | $30.8 M | $29.8 M | $1 M | Basketbal |
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#47 | David Price | $30.7 M | $30 M | $650 K | Baseball |
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#48 | Kyle Lowry | $30.5 M | $29 M | $1.5 M | Basketball |
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#49 | Albert Pujols | $30.3 M | $29.3 M | $1 M | Baseball |
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#50 | Mike Conley | $30 M | $28.5 M | $1.5 M | Basketball |
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#51 | Al Horford | $29.8 M | $27.8 M | $2 M | Basketball |
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#52 | Paul Pogba | $29.5 M | $25 M | $4.5 M | Soccer |
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#53 | Justin Verlander | $29.4 M | $28.4 M | $1 M | Baseball |
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#54 | Miguel Cabrera | $29.2 M | $28.7 M | $500 K | Baseball |
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#55 | Kirk Cousins | $28.4 M | $26.9 M | $1.5 M | Football |
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#56 | Oscar | $27.4 M | $25.9 M | $1.5 M | Soccer |
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#57 | Paul George | $27.1 M | $19.6 M | $7.5 M | Basketball |
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#58 | Dwight Howard | $27 M | $23.5 M | $3.5 M | Basketball |
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#58 | Wayne Rooney | $27 M | $22 M | $5 M | Soccer |
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#60 | Jrue Holiday | $26.9 M | $26.7 M | $250 K | Basketball |
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#60 | Kevin Love | $26.9 M | $22.9 M | $4 M | Basketball |
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#60 | Luis Suarez | $26.9 M | $19.9 M | $7 M | Soccer |
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#63 | Felix Hernandez | $26.7 M | $26.3 M | $400 K | Baseball |
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#64 | Mike Trout | $26.4 M | $23.9 M | $2.5 M | Baseball |
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#65 | Chris Bosh | $26.3 M | $25.3 M | $1 M | Basketball |
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#66 | Justin Thomas | $26 M | $21 M | $5 M | Golf |
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#67 | C.J. McCollum | $25.8 M | $23.8 M | $2 M | Basketball |
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#68 | Eli Manning | $25.5 M | $18.5 M | $7 M | Football |
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#69 | DeAndre Hopkins | $25.3 M | $24.1 M | $1.2 M | Football |
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#69 | Otto Porter, Jr. | $25.3 M | $24.8 M | $500 K | Basketball |
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#71 | Yoenis Cespedes | $25.2 M | $24.7 M | $500 K | Baseball |
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#72 | Gennady Golovkin | $25 M | $23 M | $2 M | Boxing |
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#72 | Buster Posey | $25 M | $21.5 M | $3.5 M | Baseball |
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#74 | Bradley Beal | $24.9 M | $23.9 M | $1 M | Basketball |
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#74 | Andre Drummond | $24.9 M | $23.9 M | $1 M | Basketball |
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#76 | Harrison Barnes | $24.6 M | $23.1 M | $1.5 M | Basketball |
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#77 | Davante Adams | $24.5 M | $24 M | $500 K | Football |
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#77 | Hassan Whiteside | $24.5 M | $23.8 M | $750 K | Basketball |
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#79 | Stephon Tuitt | $24.4 M | $24.2 M | $200 K | Football |
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#80 | Sam Bradford | $24.3 M | $24.1 M | $250 K | Football |
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#81 | Zack Greinke | $24.2 M | $24.1 M | $50 K | Baseball |
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#82 | Chandler Parsons | $24.1 M | $23.1 M | $1 M | Basketball |
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#83 | Virat Kohli | $24 M | $4 M | $20 M | Cricket |
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#84 | Marc Gasol | $23.7 M | $22.7 M | $1 M | Basketball |
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#84 | DeAndre Jordan | $23.7 M | $22.7 M | $1 M | Basketball |
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#86 | Steven Adams | $23.5 M | $22.5 M | $1 M | Basketball |
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#86 | Sergio Agüero | $23.5 M | $17 M | $6 M | Soccer |
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#86 | Novak Djokovic | $23.5 M | $1.5 M | $22 M | Tennis |
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#86 | Joe Mauer | $23.5 M | $23 M | $500 K | Baseball |
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#86 | J.J. Redick | $23.5 M | $23 M | $500 K | Basketball |
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#91 | Joey Votto | $23.4 M | $23.1 M | $300 K | Baseball |
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#92 | Jarvis Landry | $23.2 M | $22.5 M | $750 K | Football |
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#92 | Nate Solder | $23.2 M | $23.1 M | $100 K | Football |
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#92 | John Wall | $23.2 M | $18.2 M | $5 M | Basketball |
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#95 | LaMarcus Aldridge | $23.1 M | $21.6 M | $1.5 M | Basketball |
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#95 | Robinson Cano | $23.1 M | $22.1 M | $1 M | Baseball |
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#95 | Brook Lopez | $23.1 M | $22.6 M | $500 K | Basketball |
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#95 | Masahiro Tanaka | $23.1 M | $22.1 M | $1 M | Baseball |
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#99 | Melvin Ingram | $23 M | $22.8 M | $150 K | Football |
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#100 | Nicolas Batum | $22.9 M | $22.4 M | $500 K | Basketball |
Highest Paid Athlete 2018
