World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2018: Floyd Mayweather Ranks No 1, Virat Kohli Only Indian On The List

Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli made it to the Forbes list of world's highest-paid athletes

India’s cricket team captain Virat Kohli made it to the list of world’s highest-paid athletes. Kohli is the only sportsperson from India to be featured on the list released by Forbes.

With net earnings of USD 24 million (Rs 1,60,90,80,000), Kohli grabbed the 83rd position on the list which is topped by American boxing champion Floyd Mayweather with USD 285 million (Rs 19,11,13,87,500) earnings.

Mayweather replaced Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who held the rank for previous two years. Ronaldo with USD 108 million came down to the third spot this year, with longtime rival Lionel Messi (USD 111 million) edging ahead after having signed a new contract.

Kohli made it into the list after he was handed over A+ contract by the BCCI. Kohli is earning Rs 7 crore following the newly-created A+ contract. Besides, he also has endorsements of brands like Puma, Pepsi, Audi and Oakley among others.

According to Forbes, there are 22 different countries represented in the top 100. However, Americans dominate the list with 66 athletes.

“The 100 highest-paid athletes earned a collective USD 3.8 billion during the past 12 months, up 23% from last year,” Forbes mentioned in its detailed report.

Let’s have a look at the top 10 highest-paid athletes —

1. Floyd Mayweather – American Boxer – USD 285 million

2. Lionel Messi – Soccer – USD 111 million

3. Cristiano Ronaldo – Soccer – USD 108 million

4. Conor McGregor – Mixed Martial Arts – USD 99 million

5. Neymar – Soccer – USD 90 million

6. LeBron James – Basketball – USD 85.5 million

7. Roger Federer – Tennis – USD 77.2 million

8. Stephen Curry – Basketball – USD 76.9 million

9. Matt Ryan – Football – USD 67.3 million

10. Matthew Stafford – Football – USD 59.5 million

However, female athletes notably failed to break into the top 100 for the first time ever since Forbes began publishing its ranking.

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