The Highest Paid Athleete of 2014: Floyd Mayweather, Jr. ($105 Million)

What is particularly amazing about Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr.‘s return to the top of this list is how he was able to do it solely on the strength of his paydays from just two fights: against Saúl Álvarez in September of 2013 and against Marcos Maidana in May of 2014. In fact, Forbes listed “Pretty Boy” as having earned nothing from endorsements, and yet the $105 million Mayweather earned for 72 minutes of fighting in the ring was still enough for him to be named The Highest-Paid Athlete for 2014.

It’s all about drawing power for Floyd; the figures from his fight against Alvarez were record-breaking: $150 million from pay-per-view grosses, $20 million from the gates, and $200 million in total revenue. In fact, Mayweather’s $105 million total for 2014 made him only the second athlete after Tiger Woods to have breached the $100 million mark in annual earnings. And with the #1 pound-for-pound fighter winning his rematch against Maidana in September of 2014, a fight that earned Floyd a guaranteed $32 million, it’s not unlikely that he’ll once again be featured in the 2015 version of this highest-paid athletes list.