Since the turn of the millennium, two athletes have dominated Forbes' list of the highest earning athletes on the planet: Tiger Woods has been top of the pile 12 times, while Floyd 'Money' Mayweather has been in the top three for the past four years.
But the sporting landscape is changing in a big way. With Woods' alarming dip in form and near-constant injuries as well as Mayweather's retirement (unless he can get that fight with Conor McGregor sorted), the top of Forbes' list is looking very different for the first time in a while.
Big names like Lewis Hamilton, the aforementioned Woods and Mayweather, Tom Brady, Rory McIlroy and Rafael Nadal don't even make the top ten.
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And so, for only the second time since 1990 (legendary basketball player Michael Jordan), an athlete in a team game has been crowned the highest earning athlete in the world. This time, however, he's not from the NBA.
Check out the video to find out who's hit top spot for 2016...
Anybody else shocked? No, me neither. There isn't really one single athlete dominating the world of individual sports at the moment, despite the huge waves the likes of Jordan Spieth and Anthony Joshua are making in golf and boxing respectively.
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You just wonder if Lionel Messi hadn't been allegedly fiddling his taxes and didn't need to pay for an expensive lawyer, whether he'd have come out on top instead.
Also, interestingly there are only two women that make the top 99 and they both play tennis. Serena Williams ranks at #40 while Maria Sharapova, who probably hasn't felt the full force of her doping ban yet, comes in at #88.
And for anybody wondering, just because it's the kind of stupid thing I would wonder, the person who almost didn't make the list, ranking at #100, is Buster Posey and he plays baseball.
Congratulations Ronaldo, you've finally beaten Messi at something.*
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If you want to read more about Ronaldo's income, you can do so here.
Words by George Pavlou
*Wildly unnecessary dig I know, I actually really like Ronaldo as a person and player
Featured images via PA
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Forbes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Floyd Mayweather, Forbes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Floyd Mayweather