Floyd Mayweather Jr. Tops Sports Illustrated Highest Paid American Athlete List

For the second-consecutive year, Floyd Mayweather Junior sits atop the list concerning the highest paid American athletes.

As they've done every year since 2004, Sports Illustrated produced their list of the Top 50 highest paid athletes and to no surprise, many of the most popular figures in the worlds of professional basketball, football, baseball and golf landed on the roster.

Constant figures concerning sports and money including New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant, are comfortably among the top 15 highest earning sports figures but there are many other interesting tidbits concerning the recent SI list as well.

While Floyd Mayweather Junior tops the 2013 list, he has a wide financial lead on the No. 2 person as far as total earnings go.

Mayweather is projected to earn a whopping $90 million this year, putting him over $30 million ahead of his closest competitor, Miami Heat forward LeBron James. James is obviously not hurting for money as he will earn upwards of $57 million this year, with $39 million coming from endorsements alone.

LeBron and the Heat currently have a 3-1 series lead over the Chicago Bulls in the NBA's Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series. With a $19 million base salary this season, James has certainly been well worth the price tag as the NBA's highest paid player.

Signing a 5-year, $100 million contract in 2012, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees lands at No. 3 on the list following a year where he did not appear in the Top 50. Brees and the Saints battled through a tough 2012-2013 campaign due in large part to the season-long suspension of their head coach and multiple players.

Despite the team's struggles, the 34-year-old QB threw for over 5,000 yards for the second-consecutive season while tossing 43 touchdown passes and only 19 interceptions.

Continuing a dominant run through the 2013 PGA Tour season, Tiger Woods cracked the Top 5 this year, as his total earnings are expected to hover around $40 million with an expected $33 million coming from endorsement deals alone.

Recently winning his second Players Championship, Woods picked up his fourth win of the season in 7 total events played. Holding onto his World No. 1 ranking, the 37-year-old may finally be able to stop a major championship winless streak that dates back to 2008 when he enters the upcoming U.S. Open this June.

With 27 World Series titles in their long and tradition-rich history, it should come as no surprise that the New York Yankees have 5 players in the Sports Illustrated Top 50.

Headlined by Alex Rodriguez and his sky-high total of $29.9 million, the Bronx Bombers also see key players Derek Jeter ($25.1 million), CC Sabathia ($24 million), Mark Teixeira ($22.7 million) and Vernon Wells ($21 Million) on the list.

The SI list that comes out every year is certainly one of the more interesting pieces to the world of sports and the money many athletes earn on a yearly basis.

This year's list featured some of the most recognizable athletes in the world with 25 baseball players, 13 basketball players and 8 football players cracking the top 50. For the fifth-consecutive year however, no female athletes appeared on the rundown.

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