Mumbai, June 21: MS Dhoni has been named the highest paid cricketer by Forbes magazine between the period of June 2011 to June 2012. Placed at the 31st position on the list, the India captain is also the highest earning Indian athlete, beating Sachin Tendulkar – 78th on the list – by a huge margin.
Dhoni is also ahead of Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt, tennis ace Novak Djokovic and England and Manchester United star footballer Wayne Rooney.
According to Forbes, out of his total income of USD 26.5 million, Dhoni earned USD 23 million through endorsements while the remaining USD 3.5 million came by way of salary and prize money in cricket. Tendulkar, who earns a total of USD 18.6 million, gets USD 16.5 million from endorsements.
The Forbes list of 100 richest sportspersons is topped by boxer Floyd Mayweather with USD 85 million. He is followed by his main rival Manny Pacquiao with earnings of USD 62 million and Tiger Woods with USD 59.4 million.
