Guess Which Sport Has the Highest-Paid Athletes

Athletes have many ways to generate income—from their sport compensation to product endorsements and licensing to public appearances. Forbes recently issued a list of “The World’s 100 Highest Paid Athletes,” and which sports dominate the list may surprise you, as well as where the first female appears.

Three sports that dominate the list are basketball (18), football (17), and soccer (15), which make up half the list combined. Cricket, who had a player in the top 20, and track and field had only one athlete on the list—and for the third year, there were no hockey players.

The top 10 athletic earners are:

1. Floyd Mayweather      $105M             Boxing
2. Cristiano Ronaldo       $80M               Soccer
3. LeBron James             $72.3M            Basketball
4. Lionel Messi                $64.7M            Soccer
5. Kobi Bryant                $61.5M            Basketball
6. Tiger Woods               $61.2M            Golf
7. Roger Federer             $56.2M            Tennis
8. Phil Mickelson           $53.2M            Golf
9. Rafael Nadal               $44.5M            Tennis
10. Matt Ryan                   $43.8               Football

Surprisingly, at #22 is Mahendra Singh Dhoni—a cricket player! The first baseball player, Cliff Lee, comes in at #30.

Not surprisingly, the gender pay gap is reflected in this list.  Tennis players predominate among females; the first woman, tennis player Maria Sharapova, appears on the list at #34 with $24.4 million, followed by Li Na at #41 with $23.6 million, and Serena Williams tied at #55 with $22 million.

View the entire list here.