Floyd Mayweather tops the list of highest-paid athletes with $300 million haul

Floyd Mayweather.
(Image credit: Al Bello/Getty Images)

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has another title under his belt: The World's Highest-Paid Athlete.

The 38-year-old boxer topped Forbes' 2015 list by pulling in $300 million over the past 12 months. It's the third time in four years he's been in the top spot, and his $300 million breaks the previous record held by Tiger Woods, who brought in a paltry $115 million in 2008 ($125 million adjusted for inflation).

While the numbers are still being counted, Mayweather's May 2 fight against Manny Pacquiao is expected to rake in $600 million from pay-per-view, tickets, and sponsorships, and Mayweather will get a 60 percent cut of the $400 million that will go to the boxers and their promotion companies. Pacquiao didn't do too badly himself: He was the second-highest-paid athlete for the year with $160 million, earning $125 million for the Mayweather fight, $23 million for a November match in China against Chris Algieri, and millions more through endorsement deals with Nike, Foot Locker, Wonderful Pistachios, and other brands.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.