Forbes’ 100 highest paid athletes in world 2020: Virat Kohli lone cricketer; coronavirus impacts earnings

Bengaluru: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the earnings of the world’s top athletes. According to the Forbes magazine’s top-100 highest paid athletes in the world for 2020, the total earnings have come down by 9% when compared to 2019. “The 100 highest-paid athletes earned a combined $3.6 billion this year, which is 9% below 2019 and the first decline since 2016, when boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao skewed the results with a $400 million payout from their May 2015 ‘Fight of the Century’ pay-per-view bout,” Forbes said. Virat Kohli is the lone cricketer in the top-100 highest paid athletes in the world. Here are the top-10. The list is topped by Swiss tennis great Roger Federer. Also, find out here where is Kohli placed.

1. Roger Federer (Tennis) ($106.3 million earnings)

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Football) ($105 m)

3. Lionel Messi (Football) ($104m)

4. Neymar (Football) ($95.5m)

5. LeBron James (Basketball) ($88.2m)

6. Stephen Curry (Basketball) ($74.4m)

7. Kevin Durant (Basketball) ($63.9m)

8. Tiger Woods (Golf) ($62.3m)

9. Kirk Cousins (American Football) ($60.5m)

10. Carson Wentz (American Football) ($59.1m)

66. Virat Kohli (Cricket) ($26 million earnings; Endorsements: $24m; Salary/winnings: $2m). India captain is at 66th, a gain of 30 places from 2019.

Sports-wise break-up in the top-100 list: Basketball: 35; Football: 31; Soccer: 14; Tennis: 6; Boxing/MMA: 5; Golf: 4; Racing 3; Baseball: 1; Cricket: 1. Basketball players have dominated.