XtraTime Web Desk: India Captain Virat Kohli is the lone Indian in the recently released list of world’s top 100 highest paid athletes by Forbes magazine. Kohli with an estimated earnings of $26 million ($24m from endorsements and $2m from salary/winnings), is placed at No 66 in the list. The Indian captain has made a jump of more than 30 places since 2019 when he was ranked No 96.
Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer tops the list with estimated earnings of $106.3 million in the last one year. He has replaced Portugese superstar footballer Cristiano Ronaldo at the top. Following Roger in the list are Ronaldo ($105 million), Messi ($104 million) and Neymar ($95.5 million)
NBA stars came next in the list with Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James earning $88.2 million, Golden State Warriors all-star Stephen Curry with $74.4 million, Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant with an estimated $63.9 million.
Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka is the highest paid female athlete with $37.4 million. She however comes only 29th in the overall rankings. US tennis great Serena Williams comes 33rd with $36 million.
The factors that went into Forbes’ calculation were athletes’ revenue, including prize money, salaries, contract bonuses, endorsements, royalties, and appearance fees from June 1, 2019, until June 1, 2020.