Three Phillies Among Top 61 Highest Paid Athletes In World
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Howard. Lee. Hamels. Oh my.
According to Forbes' top-100 highest paid athletes in the world list released on Thursday, Ryan Howard (40), Cliffe Lee (42), and Cole Hamels (61) made the cut.
The list was broken down into three financial columns: total pay, salary/winnings, and endorsements. Howard has made $25.6 million in the past 12 months, while the injury-riddled Lee has racked in $25.2 million. Hamels' pay is $22.7 million.
Overall, the top-100 athletes made $3.2 billion in the past calendar year, a 17-percent increase from last year. For the second straight year, boxer Floyd Mayweather tops the list, making $300 million this year which is more than double Tiger Woods' 2007-2008 record.
Baseball (27), basketball (18), football (16) and soccer (15) make up 76 of the 100 athletes.
Manny Pacquiao ($160 million), Christiano Ronaldo ($79.6 million), Lionel Messi ($73.8 million), and Roger Federer ($67 million) round out the top-five. LeBron James ($64.8 milion) is sixth on the list.