Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw received recognition in Forbes’ annual top 100 highest-paid athletes rankings, placing 37th with a $34.5 million salary for the 2018 season.
Kershaw’s salary tops all of baseball this season. He is one of 14 Major League Baseball players to crack the list, joining the Boston Red Sox’s David Price, the Los Angeles Angels’ Albert Pujols and Mike Trout and the Houston Astros’ Justin Verlander.
Also included in the rankings were Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera, the Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez and Robinson Cano, the New York Mets’ Yoenis Cespedes, the San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Zack Greinke, the Minnesota Twins’ Joe Mauer, the Cincinnati Reds’ Joey Votto and the New York Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka.
Kershaw, who recently returned from a second stint on the 10-day disabled list, can opt out of his contract at the conclusion of the season. Should he do so, he’ll enter a stacked free agent class that’s also expected to include Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Josh Donaldson, among others.
Though, that’s no longer a foregone conclusion in the wake of Kershaw suffering multiple injuries and missing nearly six weeks of action in the early going.
Checking in as the world’s highest-paid athlete is boxer Floyd Mayweather, who tops the list with a 2018 salary of $285 million.
Rounding out the top-10 is Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Conor McGregor, Neymar, LeBron James, Roger Federer, Stephen Curry, Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford.
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