Pacquiao lands sixth in earnings among non-US athletes
Manny Pacquiao has again made it to the list of highest-earning non-American athletes, according to a survey compiled by Sports Illustrated.
The annual survey placed the Filipino ring icon in sixth place among the top 20 international athletes in terms of total earnings over the past year, with earnings of US$35,000,000. That put him just ahead of Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, who raked in $33,336,796. Pacquiao also placed sixth in last year’s survey.
“Once again this year,” SI’s Daniel Roberts wrote, “Pacquiao falls short of the top 5 because he only fought once in the period we measure (against Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012).”
Pacquiao was the highest-ranked Asian and only boxer in the list, and one of only two Asians along with China’s tennis star Li Na, who placed 17th.
After four years on top of the list, Swiss tennis star Roger Federer slipped to no. 2 with earnings of $43,424,826. The new no. 1 is aging football superstar David Beckham of Great Britain, who hauled in $48,349,000, majority of which came from endorsement deals.
Spanish Formula One driver Fernando Alonso moved up two notches to third with $42,800,000 followed by football’s two biggest stars: Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, who earned $35,300,000, and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who made $35,100,000.
Another footballer, Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, was eighth with $30,200,000. At ninth place, Russian tennis icon Maria Sharapova was the highest-ranked female athlete, with earnings of $25,5508,296. Completing the top ten was Spain’s Rafael Nadal with $24,997,448, who slipped two notches after an injury-plagued season.
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F1 racer Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain came in 11th, followed by Argentina’s Sergio Aguero (football), Britain’s Wayne Rooney (football), Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (tennis), Germany’s Michael Schumacher (auto racing), the Ivory Coast’s Yaya Toure (football), Li (tennis), Zlathan Ibrahomivic of Sweden (football), Kaka of Brazil (football), and Dieder Drogba of the Ivory Coast (football).
SI also compiled a list for American athletes, and for the second straight year, boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. was the highest-earning American athlete, projected to earn at least $90,000,000 for the period in question. Miami Heat superstar LeBron James leaped three spots to second place with $56,545,000, of which $39,000,000 will come from endorsements. Thanks to a lucrative signing bonus of $37,000,000, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees came out of nowhere to land in third place with $47,800,000.
The time period covered for the survey varies depending on the sport. According to SI:
“Endorsements reflect current deals, and salaries are based on current or most recently completed seasons; for instance, for NFL players the season that ended in February was used. (Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco’s new deal, which will pay him $20.1 million next season, isn’t reflected.)
"For auto racing and tennis, prize money came from the 2012 calendar year. Golf earnings are from July 1, 2012 through April 21, 2013. Boxing purses are from August 2012 through May 2013 (but projected money from bouts through September was included since fight deals are done on a yearly basis).”
