No Women, Including Serena Williams, Make 100 Top Paid Athletes List, Floyd Mayweather #1

No Women, Including Serena Williams, Make 100 Top Paid Athletes List, Floyd Mayweather #1

Apparently, it’s still a man’s world when it comes to the earning power of women in sports. Forbes just released their 100 Top Paid athletes for 2018 and the list includes some major athletes like Floyd Mayweather Jr and LeBron James.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather Jr tops the list at number one, with a whopping $285 million between June 2017 and June 2018. In his fight with Conor McGregor last August, he earned $275 million and another $10 million through appearances, memorabilia, and endorsements. McGregor landed at number four, earning a total of $99 million from the infamous fight, endorsements, and appearances.

Although the list includes a diverse international population with over 22 different countries being represented, there is something else that is pretty significant about the list. Probably, one of the most noticeable aspects of the Forbes list is that for the first time, there are no women athletes on the list.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams, for instance was not listed this year, after earning $51 million in 2017.

Serena Williams & daughter

Although she took some time off to have a baby, she still had endorsements, athletic wear and appearances. Her notable absence along with other female athletes, highlights the fact that women make less than their male counterparts. Naturally, this has been a hot button topic for women of all careers, but it also shows that women who want to start families often have to choose between their career and family life. Men on the other hand who have families are still able to continue making money despite being married or having children.

The Forbes 100 Top Paid Athletes list is a difficult list to qualify for considering the cutoff is between $1.5 to $22 million. Here’s to hoping that next year Serena and other female athletes are well represented in earnings and dominate next year’s list.

By: Jeanine Cruz