The 100 highest-paid athletes banked $3.2 billion over the past 12 months, up 17 percent from the prior year. A boxing match for the ages (if not in the ring, at least for the bean counters) fuelled most of the gains when Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao squared off on May 2 in a bout that generated $600 million in revenue—the richest night in sports history.The boxers ultimately earned $300 million (Mayweather) and $160 million (Pacquiao) over the past year from purses and endorsements, shattering the old record for athlete earnings: Tiger Woods’ $115 million in 2008.
(This story appears in the 24 July, 2015 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)