Mayweather Tops Highest Paid Athlete's List of 2012 (Forbes)

The top five were:
1. Floyd Mayweather, $85 million
2. Manny Pacquiao, $62 million
3. Tiger Woods, $59.4 million
4. LeBron James, $53 million .
5. Roger Federer, $52.7 million

Note: Floyd has ZERO endorsements 2-4 are all sponsored by Nike and other sponsors.

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer was fifth at $52.7 million followed by NBA star Kobe Bryant at $52.3 million, U.S. golfer Phil Mickelson at $47.8 million, English soccer star David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy at $46 million and Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo at $42.5 million.

The NFL boasts 30 players on the list, topped by No. 10 Peyton Manning, the former Indianapolis Colts star who was cut in March before signing with the Denver Broncos.

Manning's $42.4 million ranks 10th overall and he continues to be the top endorsement pitchman among gridiron stars.

LeBron James leads the 13 basketball players that made the cut. James ranks fourth overall with earnings of $53 million. James, like all NBA players, had his salary sliced 20% by the NBA lockout, but he continues to make a mint off the court from sponsors like Nike, Coca-Cola, State Farm and McDonald’s. James’ income also got a boost when he received cash as part of his marketing partnership with Fenway Sports Group last year, through which James received a stake in the soccer club Liverpool.

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mli45igdi/1-floyd-mayweather/#gallerycontent

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/06/18/mayweather-tops-list-of-the-worlds-100-highest-paid-athletes/2/