Floyd Mayweather, LeBron James Headline SI's Top 50 Earners in Sports List

Not only are Floyd Mayweather and LeBron James considered to be the best in their respective sports, but they are also the richest athletes in the United States, according to Sports Illustrated's "Fortunate 50" profile.

SI's Daniel Roberts reports that Mayweather stands to make $90 million this year based solely on two fights. He already beat Robert Guerrero soundly in his first fight in 2013 and he is scheduled to fight again in September against an opponent that has yet to be determined.

Miami Heat forward LeBron James won his fourth MVP award this season and seems poised to win a second consecutive NBA title as well. James "only" makes $17.5 million in base salary this season, but thanks to $39 million in endorsements, King James checks in at a distant No. 2 on the list with more than $56.5 million coming in this year.  

Also, James is the first team-sport player to land in the top two on the "Fortunate 50" list since former Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal in 2004, per SI's Twitter account.

Here is the full, 50-athlete list including 2013 earnings as well as their rankings from the previous year, courtesy of Sports Illustrated:

2013 Ranking	Athlete	Sport	Team	2013 Earnings	2012 Ranking
1	Floyd Mayweather	Boxing	N/A	$90 mil	1
2	LeBron James	NBA	Miami Heat	$56.545 mil	5
3	Drew Brees	NFL	New Orleans Saints	$47.8 mil	NR
4	Kobe Bryant	NBA	Los Angeles Lakers	$46.85 mil	4
5	Tiger Woods	Golf	N/A	$40,839,027	3
6	Phil Mickelson	Golf	N/A	$39.528 mil	2
7	Derrick Rose	NBA	Chicago Bulls	$33.403 mil	19
8	Peyton Manning	NFL	Denver Broncos	$31 mil	7
9	Alex Rodriguez	MLB	New York Yankees	$29.9 mil	6
10	Zack Greinke	MLB	Los Angeles Dodgers	$29.02 mil	NR
11	Dwyane Wade	NBA	Miami Heat	$28.682 mil	16
12	Kevin Durant	NBA	Oklahoma City Thunder	$27.67 mil	11
13	Johan Santana	MLB	New York Mets	$26.3 mil	NR
14	Felix Hernandez	MLB	Seattle Mariners	$25.6 mil	NR
15	Vincent Jackson	NFL	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	$25.36 mil	NR
16	Carmelo Anthony	NBA	New York Knicks	$25.3 mil	15
17	Cliff Lee	MLB	Philadelphia Phillies	$25.28 mil	T-29
18	Mario Williams	NFL	Buffalo Bills	$25.15 mil	13
19	Derek Jeter	MLB	New York Yankees	$25.1 mil	9
20	Joe Mauer	MLB	Minnesota Twins	$25 mil	12
21	Carl Nicks	NFL	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	$24.285 mil	NR
22	CC Sabathia	MLB	New York Yankees	$24 mil	20
23	Prince Fielder	MLB	Detroit Tigers	$23.5 mil	22
24	Amar'e Stoudemire	NBA	New York Knicks	$23.45 mil	24
25	Ryan Howard	MLB	Philadelphia Phillies	$23.2 mil	32
26	Tim Lincecum	MLB	San Francisco Giants	$23 mil	NR
27	Matt Schaub	NFL	Houston Texans	$22.78 mil	NR
28	Mark Teixeira	MLB	New York Yankees	$22.725 mil	21
29	Calvin Johnson	NFL	Detroit Lions	$22.6 mil	NR
30	Matt Kemp	MLB	Los Angeles Dodgers	$22.4 mil	NR
31	Dwight Howard	NBA	Los Angeles Lakers	$21.936 mil	NR
32	Vernon Wells	MLB	New York Yankees	$21.6 mil	17
33	Chris Paul	NBA	Los Angeles Clippers	$21.58 mil	40
34	Adrian Gonzalez	MLB	Los Angeles Dodgers	$21.35 mil	25
35	Dirk Nowitzki	NBA	Dallas Mavericks	$21.307 mil	NR
36	Miguel Cabrera	MLB	Detroit Tigers	$21.2 mil	NR
37	Pau Gasol	NBA	Los Angeles Lakers	$21.1 mil	NR
38	Justin Verlander	MLB	Detroit Tigers	$20.6 mil	28
39	Roy Halladay	MLB	Philadelphia Phillies	$20.21 mil	35
40	Matt Cain	MLB	San Francisco Giants	$20.1 mil	NR
41	Barry Zito	MLB	San Francisco Giants	$20.08 mil	NR
42	Carl Crawford	MLB	Los Angeles Dodgers	$20.075 mil	T-36
43	Joe Johnson	NBA	Brooklyn Nets	$19.953 mil	NR
44	Cole Hamels	MLB	Philadelphia Phillies	$19.9 mil	NR
45	Joey Votto	MLB	Cincinnati Reds	$19.25 mil	NR
46	Albert Pujols	MLB	Los Angeles Angels	$19 mil	T-36
47	Chris Bosh	NBA	Miami Heat	$18.545 mil	48
48	Eli Manning	NFL	New York Giants	$18.5 mil	31
49	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	NASCAR	N/A	$18,416,567	8
50	Alfonso Soriano	MLB	Chicago Cubs	$18.2 mil	NR

Rounding out the top five are New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant and legendary golfer Tiger Woods.

According to Roberts, Woods had been No. 1 in the "Fortunate 50" every year from 2004 until 2012 when Mayweather assumed the top spot. Woods is back in familiar territory thanks to an incredibly strong 2013 season thus far.

Being highly paid doesn't always guarantee success on the field of play, as some of the athletes on the list have proven, but there is no question that Mayweather and James are deserving of their No. 1 and No. 2 positions, respectively.

Whether or not athletes make more money than they deserve is an entirely different conversation. Nevertheless, in comparison to their counterparts in every other sport, Floyd and LeBron are simply a cut above the rest in terms of both skill and wealth.  

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