Forbes magazine’s estimate of the world’s top 100 highest-paid athletes in 2018 is truly a boys club.
For the first time since 2010, no female athletes made the list, which Forbes dubbed “an all-male affair.” Tennis star Serena Williams was the only woman to make the prestigious list last year, but dropped off after taking time to give birth to her daughter Olympia.
Williams ranked 51st in 2017 list, earning an estimated $27 million between endorsement deals and prize money. Forbes estimated that in the last 12 months as of June 1, she earned $18 million, which put her below the 100th athlete on the 2018 list ― NBA player Nicolas Batum, who earned $22.9 million.
Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. ranked number one, raking in a whopping $275 million during a year that included his highly publicized fight with UFC star Conor McGregor. Mayweather easily won that bout, but McGregor has the solace of ranking number four on the Forbes list, with estimated earnings of $99 million.
Mayweather has had several run-ins with the law for domestic abuse. He was fined $2,500 and sentenced to serve three months in jail after he punched the mother of three of his children in 2010.
Twitter users pointed to the list as a glaring example of the gender pay disparity in sports.
Forbes noted that joining Williams on the list in some previous years were tennis players Li Na and Maria Sharapova. Na retired in 2014 and Sharapova took a hit after being suspended for 15 months for using a banned substance.
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