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Dhoni only Indian in world's highest paid athletes' list

June 11, 2015 11:33 IST

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the ODI captain of India. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

India’s One-day International cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is among Forbes magazine's 100 highest-paid athletes in the world.

The cricketer is the only Indian sportsman on the list that has been topped again by American boxer Floyd Mayweather and includes golfer Tiger Woods, tennis star Roger Federer and Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.

Dhoni has been ranked 23rd on the Forbes list of The World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2015, dropping a notch from his ranking of 22 last year. Dhoni's total earnings stood at $ 31 million, including amount from salary/winnings at $ 4 million and endorsements worth $ 27 million.

The 33-year old cricketer retired from Test cricket at the end of 2014, ceding his Indian national team captainship to fellow star Virat Kohli but remains India's skipper at the One Day International and T20 levels. 

"He led India to the semifinal round of the 2015 Cricket World Cup before suffering a loss to eventual champion Australia, and in May the Chennai Super Kings went to the IPL Finals for the sixth time in his eight years as team captain," Forbes said.

Movie poster of MS Dhoni

 

He is also co-producing MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, an upcoming biopic that has been "fraught with delays but has already funneled some three millions into the Indian star's pockets".

The earnings figures include salaries, prize money and bonuses paid out between June 2014 and June 2015.

In 2014’s list, Dhoni was ranked 22nd, with total earnings of $30 million and endorsements worth $26 million.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. celebrates the unanimous decision victory after defeating Manny Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather Jr. celebrates the unanimous decision victory after defeating Manny Pacquiao during the welterweight unification championship bout at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

Mayweather retains the top spot this year with earnings of $ 300 million, more than double the previous high for an athlete. This is the third time in four years that Mayweather was ranked as the world's highest-paid athlete, Forbes said.

"Mayweather's $300 million year shatters the record for athlete earnings, which was previously held by Tiger Woods who banked $115 million in 2008," Forbes said.

Mayweather's May 2 fight against Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao crushed multiple boxing financial records, including $ 13 million in sponsorships.

The 100 highest-paid athletes made $ 3.2 billion in total over the last 12 months, up 17 percent from the previous year. 

FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal

FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid speaks during the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2014 at the Kongresshau. Photograph: Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images

Pacquiao ranks second on the list with total earnings of $ 160 million followed by Real Madrid's Ronaldo with earnings of $ 79.6 million.

Actress Deepika Padukone plays tennis with Roger Federer

Actress Deepika Padukone plays tennis with Roger Federer of the Indian Aces during the third leg of the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for IPTL 2014

Federer ranks fifth with earnings of $ 67 million, including $ 58 million from sponsors, exhibitions and appearance fees. Federer dropped to No. 7 in the world tennis rankings in 2013 but he rebounded last year to finish 2014 in second.

LeBron James is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) top-earning player and ranks sixth among all athletes at $ 64.8 million.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia

Serbia's Novak Djokovic poses for photographers with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

The list also includes tennis player Novak Djokovic on the 13th rank with earnings of $ 48.2 million, German Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel (21), tennis star Rafael Nadal (22), soccer player Wayne Rooney (34) and Jamaican runner Usain Bolt (73).

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