No one is in Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s league – in boxing or on the balance sheets.
Boxing’s pound-for-pound king is projected to make $105 million for 72 minutes of work in the ring in 2014, landing him atop Fortune’s latest list of the 50 highest earning American athletes.
Remarkably, that doesn’t include any endorsement deals. For his fight against Marcos Maidana in May, Mayweather got a guaranteed purse of $32 million. It isn’t certain how much of the pay-per-view returns he pulls in, but Mayweather tweeted that for this bout, he got another $38 million. He will fight again on Sept. 13 against an opponent to be determined, and Fortune estimates, after talking to Mayweather’s handlers, he will receive a $35 million purse.
The $105 million doesn’t even include the money he makes from his brand, The Money Team, which sells clothing apparel. Mayweather also has gotten involved in tech investing.
Miami Heat uber-star LeBron James comes in No. 2 at $57,067,500 – nearly $50 million less than Mayweather – with more than half of his money, $38 million, coming via endorsement deals with the likes of McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Samsung.
Lakers icon Kobe Bryant was third ($50,453,805), Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers fourth on the strength of a big signing bonus in his latest contract ($45.8 million) and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning fifth ($37.5 million).
Golfers Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods placed sixth and seventh, respectively, hauling in $37,221,975 and $35,500,758, measuring the period from May 2013 to April 2014.
The findings are based on (pre-tax) salary, winnings, bonuses and paid endorsements (additional earnings athletes get from speaking engagements and their own side businesses are not taken into account).