Updated June 12, Basketball and football dominated Forbes’s top list of the highest-paying sports, and there was a wide variety of nationalities amongst the top athletes. Forbes calculates the athletes’ earnings by adding up their prize money, salaries and endorsements between June and June Tennis star Serena Williams was the only woman to feature, coming in 63rd. There were no women in last year’s list. Speaking to Forbes, Kurt Badenhausen, senior editor of Forbes Media, said: «The global impact of soccer is clearly reflected in earnings inwith the top three athletes on the list being Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar. Topics: sportbasketballsoccercommunity-and-societyhuman-interestunited-statesbrazilportugalargentina. First posted June 12, If you have inside knowledge of a topic in the news, contact the ABC. ABC teams share the story behind the story and insights into the making of digital, TV and radio content.