Messi unseats Mayweather as highest-paid athlete: Forbes

Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi dethroned five-division boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather as the highest paid athlete over the past year, according to the annual list published by business magazine Forbes on Tuesday.

Messi, who scored 36 goals while leading Barcelona to the La Liga title this year, earned $127 million between his salary and endorsements to move up one spot on the list of the world's 100 highest-paid athletes.

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo ($109 million), Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar ($105 million), Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez ($94 million) and Swiss tennis great Roger Federer ($93.4 million) rounded out the top five.

Mayweather, who topped the list in 2018 and four times in seven years, only had an exhibition match last December in Japan and did not crack the top 100, which is comprised of athletes from 10 different sports.

Players from the National Basketball Association led all sports with 35 players among the top 100, none higher than Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James who was ranked eighth with total earnings of $89 million.

American football was the next most-represented sport with 19 players, followed by baseball with 15, and soccer with 12.

According to Forbes, the highest-paid athletes of its list collectively earned $4 billion over the last 12 months, up 5% from last year's earnings of $3.8 billion.

Forbes also said Americans dominate the list with 62 athletes, which it credits to sky-high salaries in the major sports leagues. The United Kingdom has five athletes, France and Spain have three, while Brazil, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Serbia and Venezuela all have two.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Serena serves ace for black women's equal pay

NEW YORK -- Serena Williams served up a rallying cry for equal pay for black women Monday, decrying that they would have to work on average eight months longer to earn the same as male counterparts in one year.

The record-breaking tennis star and world's highest paid female athlete -- who has spoken candidly about sexism and racism -- wrote a nearly 1,000-word essay in Fortune magazine to mark Black Women's Equal Pay Day.

For every dollar made by a man, black women make 63 cents in the United States. Black women earn 17 percent less than white women, and black women with graduate degrees get paid less at every level, wrote Williams.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion quoted data showing that only 44 percent of white men recognize the pay gap as an issue.

"I have been treated unfairly, I've been disrespected by my male colleagues and -- in the most painful times -- I've been the subject of racist remarks on and off the tennis court," wrote the 35-year-old.

"The cycles of poverty, discrimination, and sexism are much, much harder to break than the record for Grand Slam titles," she added, calling for legislation and action to change the status quo.

Williams, who announced her engagement to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian last December, is pregnant with her first child. She plans to return to competitive tennis next year.

"Black women: Be fearless. Speak out for equal pay. Every time you do, you're making it a little easier for a woman behind you," she said.

"Most of all, know that you're worth it. It can take a long time to realize that. It took me a long time to realize it. But we are all worth it. I've long said, 'You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.'"

Forbes ranks Williams as the highest earning female athlete with a pay check of $27 million -- but only 51st on an overall list of highest paid athletes. Forbes ranks Roger Federer as the world's highest paid tennis star at $64 million.

"Black women are the cornerstone of our communities, they are phenomenal, and they deserve equal pay," Williams tweeted Monday with a picture of herself wearing a T-shirt saying "Phenomenal Woman."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Floyd shows off piles of cash, sports cars

American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. appears to be happy in his retirement, showing off piles of cash and his sports cars in a display of his "lavish lifestyle."



Mayweather retired in September 2015 after beating Andre Berto. He retired with 49 wins and no losses and was the highest-paid athlete in sports in the year he stepped away from boxing.

In an Instagram post, Mayweather showed off a table filled with stacks of cash, wearing a cap bearing a "$1M" insignia.

"They say 'life is what you make it,' and to that, I'll agree wholeheartedly," Mayweather said in his caption. "As I sit here, acknowledging how blessed I am to be retired a year shy of my 40th birthday, it's nearly impossible to say that I am not living the 'American Dream.'"

Mayweather said that he may not have his "usual six-pack or muscle tone in sight," but he still gets the last laugh after retiring with a spotless record.

"I'm blessed to wake up every morning, certain that my bank accounts are growing," he said. "Making seven figures monthly without moving a finger just further proves that I've made brilliant investments and decisions that allow me to walk away from the ring comfortably."

"I'm proud to be a King," he declared.    

Two days ago, Mayweather also showed a picture of himself swimming, with the caption: "The retired life. Seven figures monthly. Retired before 40 years old. Made smart investments."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Floyd to earn at least $200M in Pacquiao fight

When all is said and done, Floyd Mayweather Jr. estimated that he stands to earn some $200 million after his "Fight of the Century" against Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.

According to Mayweather, already the highest paid athlete in the world, he was already given a check for $100 million by his team after his fight against Pacquiao, which he won via unanimous decision.

"For my team to hand me a hundred million dollar check in the back is remarkable," Mayweather told reporters in the post-fight press conference.

"This week, in the last four days, I made $25 million before I even got to the fight, and then my team, after the fight, I was guaranteed a hundred million," he added.

"And then, I still got money on the backend, and other money that comes in. So we're looking upwards of $200 million," Mayweather said.

ESPN's boxing writer Dan Rafael confirmed Mayweather's assertion.


"Before leaving arena Floyd came over to me to chat (seriously) and to show me his check. $100M," he tweeted after the event.

Mayweather will earn a greater share of the revenue than Pacquiao, as the two boxers agreed to a 60-40 split.

Inside the ring, the "Fight of the Century" failed to live up to the incredible hype, but is still likely to break all of the sport's revenue records.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com