Three F1 drivers on Forbes’ top-earning athletes list

Three mega stars of Formula 1 have unsurprisingly made it to the Forbes 2018 Top 100 highest-paid athletes list, and the names are equally predictable.

Among the world’s top boxers, soccer, basketball and football players, Lewis Hamilton clocks in #12 on the list with estimated earnings of $51M split up between a $42M retainer from Mercedes and $9M worth of personal endorsements.

At the top of the standings is Floyd Mayweather with a staggering $285M pay year, an amount the boxer earned in just 36 minutes in the ring last year while fighting Irishman Conor McGregor.

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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo complete the podium with $111M and $108M respectively.

Further down the order, ranking #18, Sebastian Vettel took in $42.3M courtesy of the House of Maranello.

That’s actually the same amount as Hamilton, but the German is outraced by his arch-rival in terms of endorsements, his personal sponsorship deals estimated at just $300K.

The third driver included on the Forbes rich and happy 100 list is predictably Fernando Alonso, who enjoyed a $32M paycheck from McLaren and $1M in endorsements.

And by the way, in case you’re wondering, to make the Forbes 100 cut, it was necessary to earn $22.9M, which is the amount generated by the last man on the list, Charlotte Hornets basketball player Nicolas Batum.

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