Mahendra Singh Dhoni sole Indian in Forbes list of world’s richest athletes

Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is among Forbes magazine’s 100 highest-paid athletes in the world, 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 USD 31 million, including amount from salary/winnings at USD 4 million and endorsements worth USD 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.

He is also co-producing ‘M.S 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.

Mayweather retains the top spot this year with earnings of USD 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 USD 13 million in sponsorships.