Each of the top 11 earned more than $100 million in a year
$260 million – annual income forward of the Portuguese national team and Saudi Al-Nasr Cristiano Ronaldo. Krish is the highest paid athlete in the world. In total The 50 richest athletes on the planet collectively earned almost $3.9 billion. This is a record figure that has been updated for the fourth year in a row.
These are the data from the annual Forbes ranking. According to the publication, the income of the 50 best athletes in the ranking has increased by 30% over three years, and has doubled over the past ten years. At the same time, income from the commercial activities of athletes amounted to 936 million, which is 13% lower than last year.
The leader of the list for the second year in a row is Cristiano Ronaldo, whose salary at the club is $200 million a year. In second place is golfer Jon Rahm, who also boasts high payouts from Saudi Arabia. In third is Lionel Messi.
The “threshold” for entering the TOP 50 rating was $42.5 million. In 2020, this amount was $28.5 million.
The average age of the athletes included in the TOP 50 was 31.1 years. At the same time, the ranking includes six athletes 39 years of age and older: Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Aaron Rodgers, Lewis Hamilton, Max Scherzer and the oldest athlete on the list, 48-year-old golfer Tiger Woods.
In the TOP 50, 29 athletes represent the USA, four from the UK, and two from France. At the same time, as the compilers of the rating note, Joel Embiid, who will play for the US team at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, was “counted” for his home country of Cameroon.
If we talk about sports, the TOP 50 includes 19 basketball players, 11 American football players, eight football players and five golf players.
There is not a single woman in the TOP 50. Last year, Serena Williams, who has already completed her playing career, was included in the rating.
There is not a single boxer in the top 10. The sport’s most successful figure, Canelo Alvarez, earned $85 million over the past 12 months.
| Player | Type of sport | Revenue (million dollars) | Salary (million dollars) | Other income(million dollars) |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Football | 260 | 200 | 60 |
| Jon Rahm | Golf | 218 | 198 | 20 |
| Lionel Messi | Football | 135 | 65 | 70 |
| LeBron James | Basketball | 128.2 | 48.2 | 80 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | Basketball | 111 | 46 | 65 |
| Kylian Mbappe | Football | 110 | 90 | 20 |
| Neymar | Football | 108 | 80 | 28 |
| Karim Benzema | Football | 106 | 100 | 6 |
| Stephen Curry | Basketball | 102 | 52 | 50 |
| Lamar Jackson | American football | 100.5 | 98.5 | 2 |
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
