Manny Pacquiao included in Forbes’ top 10 highest-paid athletes of the decade
According to the international business magazine, the 41-year-old boxer’s “25 pay-per-view fights have generated 20 million buys and an estimated $1.3 billion in revenue.” (File photo: mannypacquiao/Instagram)
Forbes has revealed its list of top 10 highest-paid athletes of the decade and among them is the country’s “Pambansang Kamao (Nation’s Fist).”
Garnering $435 million, or around P22 billion, from 2010 to 2019, Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao landed on the eighth place of the list, following American golfer Phil Mickelson with $480 million earnings.
According to the international business magazine, the 41-year-old boxer’s “25 pay-per-view fights have generated 20 million buys and an estimated $1.3 billion in revenue.”
Pacquiao, who is also a senator, claimed the WBA super welterweight belt after defeating Keith Thurman by split decision in their fight last July.
Meanwhile, retired boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., ranked first in the list, bringing in $915 million in the past 10 years.
Forbes said that his fights against Pacquiao and Conor McGregor in 2015 and 2017, respectively, generated a combined 10 million pay-per-view buys which paid Mayweather more than $500 million. These bouts, the magazine noted, were the “two biggest one-night payouts in the history of sports.”
Also included in the list of top-earning athletes are football stars Cristiano Ronaldo with $800 million and Lionel Messi with $750 million, taking the second and third spots, respectively.
Ranking fourth is Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James with $680 million, followed by Swiss tennis player Roger Federer with $640 million, and golfer Tiger Woods with $615 million.
Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant took the ninth place with $425 million, while racing driver Lewis Hamilton ranked 10th with $400 million earnings.
Among those highest-paid athletes, only Pacquaio and Mayweather are boxers.
“No baseball, football or hockey players made the cut,” Forbes said.
Forbes added that the athletes’ earnings during their retirement years were excluded, which explained why NBA stars like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan were not in the top 10.
