Women in sports say Forbes' annual list of the world's highest-paid athletes is proof that the gender pay gap is real and pressing. That's because—for the first time in eight years—not a single woman made the cut. The highest-paid female athlete in 2017—the year she gave birth to a daughter—was Serena Williams. Her $18 million puts her roughly $5 million below the take of the man to hold the 100th spot, Nicolas Batum of the Charlotte Hornets, who made $22.9 million, reports NBC News. "When more men in power become allies and care about gender equality, the power differential will shift," former tennis champ Billie Jean King says in a tweet. They top-earners for 2017 are:
- Floyd Mayweather (boxing): $285 million
- Lionel Messi (soccer): $111 million
- Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer): $108 million
- Conor McGregor (MMA): $99 million
- Neymar (soccer): $90 million
- LeBron James (basketball): $85.5 million
- Roger Federer (tennis): $77.2 million
- Stephen Curry (basketball): $76.9 million
- Matt Ryan (football): $67.3 million
- Matthew Stafford (football): $59.5 million
Stafford is also the NFL's
highest-paid player ever. The full list of 100 is
here. (Read more
athletes stories.)
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