By Chrysanthus Ikeh
World welterweight boxing champion, Floyd Mayweather has emerged the highest paid sports personality in the world for 2015.
According to ESPN Magazine’s 2015 survey on World sport’s top earners, the extravagant boxer, who recently won the richest boxing bout in history against Manny Pacquiao, is estimated to have made $250m.
The Filipino boxer came second with $150m while Barcelona Striker, Lionel Messi came third with an estimated $56.3m ahead of his Real Madrid rival, Cristiano Ronaldo who has $50.2m to his name.
Check out the top 15 names on the list below…
| RANK | ATHLETE | LEAGUE/TEAM | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Floyd Mayweather | WBA/WBC champion | $250M (a) |
| 2 | Manny Pacquiao | Former WBO champion | $150M (a) |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | La Liga/Barcelona | $56.3M |
| 4 | Cristiano Ronaldo | La Liga/Real Madrid | $50.2M |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Formula 1/Ferrari | $50M |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Formula 1/McLaren | $40M |
| 7 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Ligue 1/PSG | $35.1M |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Formula 1/Mercedes | $31M |
| 8 | Clayton Kershaw | MLB/LA Dodgers | $31M |
| 10 | Justin Verlander | MLB/Detroit Tigers | $28M |
| 11 | Zack Greinke | MLB/LA Dodgers | $27M |
| 12 | Wayne Rooney | EPL/Manchester United | $26M |
| 13 | Josh Hamilton | MLB/Texas Rangers | $25M |
| 13 | Ryan Howard | MLB/Philadelphia Phillies | $25M |
| 13 | Cliff Lee | MLB/Philadelphia Phillies | $25M |
