No other athlete's paycheck contains quite as many zeros as boxing champion Floyd Mayweather's does.  According to Forbes magazine, he is currently the highest paid athlete in the world.

The boxer is so successful because he not only trains and fights hard, but because he also takes his self-promotion very seriously. Outside of the ring, he serves as his own promoter through Mayweather Promotions.

This promotion model allows the fighter to keep 100 percent of the profits from his tickets, sponsorship, and pay-per-view earnings. This pays the fighter over 50 percent more than other boxers are paid per fight.

Big competitor, Manny Pacquiao, came in a close second place, bringing in up to $62 million for his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez and Tim Bradley and earnings close to $6 million just from promotion.

After 11 years of holding on to the number one spot, Tiger Woods fell to the number three spot on the list. Last year his earnings only amounted to $59.4 million. Much of this was due to his golf course design business dwindling along with his sponsors.

Also making top ten on the list were LeBron James, Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant, Phil Mickelson, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Peyton Manning.