Hamilton earns $82m to sit eighth on Forbes’ highest paid athlete list
The seven-time world champion took home combined on and off-track earnings of $82million (£58.5m) from 1 May 2020 to 1 May 2021, putting him inside the top 10 of the sporting elite for the second time in his career.
The list, which is compiled by Forbes, ranks the ten highest-paid athletes in the world. They have made a combined $1.05billion during the past 12 months.
Forbes says that figure is 28% more than last year’s top earners and “the combined haul falls just a few million short of the $1.06 billion record set in 2018, the 12-month window in which boxer Floyd Mayweather earned $285 million, almost all of it from his 2017 pay-per-view fight with McGregor.”
Hamilton previously broke into the top 10 in 2017 when he placed 10th on the list with $46m (£32.7m).
Forbes claims that the 36-year-old’s off-track earnings total $12m (£8.5m) through endorsements from sponsors including Tommy Hilfiger, Monster Energy and Puma. Hamilton also earned bonus payments for his 11 grand prix victories last season.
MMA fighter Conor McGregor tops the list on $180m, ahead of footballers Lionel Messi ($130m) and Cristiano Ronaldo ($120m), who complete the top three.
American footballer Dak Prescott is fourth on $107.5m, ahead of NBA star Lebron James ($96.5m), footballer Neymar ($95m), and Tennis legend Roger Federer ($90m).
Completing the top-10 behind Hamilton are Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady ($76m) and NBA’s Kevin Durant ($75m).
