For the first time in 8 years, no women have made Forbes’ highest-paid athletes list

It’s the first time since 2010 that no women appeared on the list.

Forbes released its annual list of the World’s highest-paid athletes, and on a list of 100 names, precisely no women are found in the 2018 edition. This isn’t a surprise if you’ve been keeping track of the list over the years.

According to CNN, at least one woman and no more than three have been featured on the list since it expanded to 50 names in 2010 (it’s now 100). That means anywhere from 94 to 99 percent of the list has been occupied by men. The full takeover was frustratingly bound to happen.

Most of the women who made the list were tennis athletes (Maria Sharapova, Li Na and Serena Williams.) With Na retired, Sharapova sidelined for most of the year after testing positive for banned substances and Williams missing most of the year during her pregnancy and the birth of her first child, nobody else made the cut. (The No. 100 highest-paid athlete raked in $22.4 million.)

There’s no better indication of where our society stands in the eyes of men’s vs. women’s athletics than not having a single female athlete inside the top-100 of the best paid in the world.

This is the everyday struggle for women in sports. Though there have been slight wins along the way, like the United States’ women’s soccer team signing an improved collective bargaining agreement, nothing’s changed on the macro level.

Why aren’t women on the list?

That’s a loaded question. But it’s not a lack of talent, that’s for sure.

With Katie Ledecky swimming her way into the record books each time she graces the water, goalkeeper Hope Solo defending the net and WNBA basketball player Maya Moore on the court for her fifth title in eight years, it has nothing to do with the level of competition. It does have everything to do with the ways in which women’s sports are disproportionately monetized and broadcasted.

This result even comes after women’s sports leagues like the WNBA are seeing a leap in viewership. Game 1 of the 2017 WNBA Finals saw the best overnight ratings its ever had on ESPN. So why is the number of athletes on Forbes’ list trending down?

Men’s top-100 highest-paid athletes included talent from basketball, soccer, baseball, mixed martial arts, boxing, football, golf, auto racing and more. That grab bag of sports leagues gives men the opportunity to earn prize money in individual play or large sums of guaranteed money in the form of guaranteed-team contracts. That same money isn’t afforded to female talent — at least not on a similar pay scale.

For example, the WNBA’s best paid talent is limited to just over six figures, while NBA counterparts earn upwards of $30+ million.

Something that is especially surprising about zero women making Forbes’ list

The results of Forbes’ list came in the months before, during and after the 2018 winter Olympics, a time where endorsers can swallow up the best and most marketable talents to promote their brands.

Despite this being skier Lindsey Vonn’s final Olympics, and the emergence of snowboarder Chloe Kim (who went viral on her own on Twitter), neither made the cut.

There’s change needed to properly compensate the most talented women in sports. When Serena Williams decides to hang up her cleats for good, the highest-paid athletes list is on the path to maintaining its rep as a dude-fest.

How is Forbes’ list determined?

For those who question its accuracy, Forbes states that it accounts for salaries, prize money and bonuses earned between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018. For MLB players that includes salary from both seasons, for NFL salaries that includes their 2017 base salaries and bonuses earned over the following months, and for golfers and tennis players, all prize money is included.

The totals also include endorsements that come in the form of sponsorship deals, appearance fees and licensing income during that year’s span based on “conversations with dozens of industry insiders.” Taxes and agents fees are not deducted, and investment income isn’t included.

Ok, so who did make the list?

Topping the list is retired boxer Floyd Mayweather, who made $285 million, soccer players Lionel Messi at $111 million and Cristiano Ronaldo at $108 million, MMA’s Conor McGregor at $99 million and soccer player Neymar at $90 million in that order.

While the names up top are the faces of their respective leagues, the rest of the top-100 don’t fill out that way. Included are NFL quarterback Alex Smith at No. 20, and NBA starters Otto Porter at No. 69 and Nicolas Batum at No. 100.

A handful of the names on the complete list can only be recognized by avid fans of the sport, and many can’t be considered household names. That’s not speaking ill of them. Everyone should earn their money!

But it’s baffling that the most talented women in their field aren’t even making comparable wages to the second- and third-tier talents in men’s leagues.