Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was proclaimed by Forbes magazine as the world's highest-paid athlete, earning a whopping $88 million for the past 12 months.

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His huge financial windfall came from a combination of salaries, bonuses as well as endorsements. Ronaldo is only the second team athlete after Michael Jordan to make it to the top of the Forbes list, which has been tracking athletes' earnings since 1990.

The list was dominated by only two athletes for the past two decades: Golfer Tiger Woods and boxer Floyd Mayweather. Woods held the No. 1 position 12 times while Mayweather was the highest-earning athlete thrice in the the last four years.

Sports stars have been getting a boost in their earnings, thanks to TV money. This year, Forbes increased the cutoff of the top 100 athletes to $20.8 million, up by $2 million ascompared to last year's figures.

Ronaldo's football club Real Madrid pays him $50 million a year in salary and bonuses, which the Portugese national will continue earning through 2018. Ronaldo also won a seven-figure bonus after leading Real Madrid to the Champions League title.

Ronaldo is followed by fellow footballer Lionel Messi, who who recorded $81.4 million in earnings from Barcelona and chief sponsor Adidas.

In the number three spot is Basketball superstar LeBron James, earning $77.2 million last year.

In 2015, James was signed by Nike to the company's first ever lifetime contract in 44 years. While sales of James' signature shoes have seen a slump in the past 12 months, a spike is possible when James' NBA days are over. The contract is likely to pay out more than $1 billion.

Tennis superstar Roger Federer comes in fourth place with his $60 million in earnings, thanks to endorsements and appearance fees.

He also signed long-term deals with established names like Nike, Rolex, Mercedes-Benz and Credit Suisse.

Rounding up the top five is Kevin Durant, who earned $56.2 million. Much of Durant's income comes from his deal with Nike. The company renewed his contract in 2014 and is expected to pay him $300 million at the end of the 10-year partnership.

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