1. Floyd Mayweather - Boxing

Mayweather's status as the best boxer on the planet was quantified in 2013, when he signed a 30-month, six-fight deal with pay-per-view network Showtime. Hailed as "richest individual athlete deal in all of sports", Mayweather's $US180 million ($206 million) haul puts him at the top of the list for the highest year-on-year earnings from a single contract. With the contract set to conclude in 2015, it will be interesting to see whether this is one title Mayweather can defend.

2. Kimi Räikkönen - Auto racing

Finnish formula one driver, Kimi Räikkönen became the highest salaried sportsperson in 2007, after inking a three-year $US153 million deal with Ferrari. After raking in $US51 million per year, Räikkönen took a two year break from formula one racing, dabbling in rallying and NASCAR before making his return in 2013.

He re-signed with Ferrari in 2014 for an undisclosed amount.

3. Michael Schumacher - Auto racing

The legend of the F1 circuit, Schumacher made an early launch into the history books, with his four-year contract with Ferrari in 1996 netting him $US31 million per year.

In 2005, Schumacher was declared the world's first billionaire athlete by Eurobusiness magazine, but a significant share of his income came from advertising.

4. Clayton Kershaw - Baseball

Renowned for its massive and long-spanning contracts, baseball delivered Los Angles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw the highest yearly salary on record this year. In a seven-year contract from 2014-2020, Kershaw will earn just over $US30 million each year, or a total of $US215 million.

5. Miguel Cabrera - Baseball

Scrapping in just behind Kershaw, pitcher Miguel Cabrera will pocket $US29.2 million in 2014 - a tidy income which will continue for the next nine years as part of a $US292 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.

6. Alex Rodriguez - Baseball

In a deal that would keep him playing until he was 42, Rodriguez's 10-year $US275 million contract with the New York Yankees broke records when it was announced in 2007.

In 2014, Rodriguez was suspended from the Major Baseball League for the entirety of the 2014 season after it was revealed he had used numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including testosterone and human growth hormone, over multiple years.

7. Wayne Rooney - Football

The Manchester United Star secured the biggest annual salary in the history of the English Premier League, signing a four-year extension with the club, worth $104 million or $26 million per year.

8. Justin Verlander - Baseball

Detroit Tigers star Justin Verlander became the highest paid pitcher in the game when he signed a $180 million deal in 2013.

The seven-year deal broke the existing $175 million record set by Seattle pitcher Felix Hernandez one month earlier. Both men have since been eclipsed by LA Dodgers' pitcher Clayton Kershaw, whose $215 million contract places him at number four on this list.

9. Alex Rodriguez - Baseball

Until he was suspended by the Major Baseball League in 2014 for using performance-enhancing substances, Rodriguez's career was underwritten by record breaking contracts.

His 10-year contract with the Texas Rangers, signed in 2001, was worth $US252 million. He opted out of this contract in 2007, when he signed with the Yankees in another record-breaking contract (see above).

10. Giancarlo Stanton

All but a signature on the dotted line is said to stand between Giancarlo Stanton and the most lucrative sporting contract in North American sports history.

The baseball superstar will pocket $US325 million from the 13-year contract with the Miami Marlins, US media said on Monday.

The deal will see Stanton earn an average of $US25 million each year.

Not too shabby for the 25-year-old, who made his major league debut with the Marlins in 2010 and has since hit 154 homers in 634 career games.