Ohtani Ranks 5th in Forbes' List of Highest-Paid Athletes

New York, May 22 (Jiji Press)--Japanese two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers ranked fifth in Forbes' annual list of highest-paid athletes that was released Friday.

Ohtani's total earnings stood at 127.6 million dollars for the past year, the highest among baseball players.

Ohtani receives most of his annual salary from the team with deferred payment after the end of his multi-year contract. He earned 125 million dollars from off-field activities, the highest such total among all athletes on the list.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo topped the overall rankings with 300 million dollars, followed by Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez with 170 million dollars. Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi placed third and U.S. basketball player LeBron James came fourth.

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