The rise of Floyd Mayweather from a young Olympic whippersnapper to a fully-fledged ‘Money’ man and Pay-Per-View star can be witnessed in a stunning animated timeline.
Put together by innovators at NoobNorm, the graphic is already causing a storm on social media. It’s already been viewed in the millions.
Boxing’s participation is paramount in the visual for our sport as Mayweather has lead the way four times in his career as the highest paid athlete in the world.
Add to that the fact that boxing has held the joint-most top ten earners, and pugilism is at the forefront of where the cash lies.
Mayweather followed the likes of Mike Tyson, the original money-maker.
‘Iron’ Mike was followed up by Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. Plus Oscar De La Hoya and more recently, pound for pound number ones past and present in Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez.
Still holding the record for a single event, Mayweather remains a huge draw despite being retired for two years.
Recently confirming his intention to return in 2020, Mayweather could be back in contention for the top spot in the next twelve months.
Tiger Woods, 11 (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013)
Michael Jordan, 6 (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998)
Floyd Mayweather, 4 (2012, 2014, 2015, 2018)
Mike Tyson, 2 (1990, 1996)
Michael Schumacher, 2 (1999, 2000)
Christiano Ronaldo, 2 (2016, 2017)
Evander Holyfield, 1 (1991)
Lionel Messi, 1 (2019)
WOODS
As shown above, Tiger Woods will prove a tough act to follow for anyone in the future. Eleven years from the last two decades have seen the newly-rejuvenated golfer hit the summit.
NFL stars are ever-present, as are ballers from the NBA. Formula 1 still hangs in there, whilst tennis stars Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal consistently pull in the dollars.
Surprisingly, despite huge contracts on offer, baseball struggles to compete lucratively at the very top level.
Soccer is making great strides as the TV cash on offer improves year-by-year.
For Mayweather, the decision to travel the world in 2018 and 2019 meant he didn’t make the Top 100 on the 2019 Forbes list.
FORBES TOP 10 Highest Paid Athletes – 2019
1-10 #1 Lionel Messi $127 M $92 M $35 M Soccer
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo $109 M $65 M $44 M Soccer
#3 Neymar $105 M $75 M $30 M Soccer
#4 Canelo Alvarez $94 M $92 M $2 M Boxing
#5 Roger Federer $93.4 M $7.4 M $86 M Tennis
#6 Russell Wilson $89.5 M $80.5 M $9 M Football
#7 Aaron Rodgers $89.3 M $80.3 M $9 M Football
#8 LeBron James $89 M $36 M $53 M Basketball
#9 Stephen Curry $79.8 M $37.8 M $42 M Basketball
#10 Kevin Durant $65.4 M $30.4 M $35 M Basketball
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