Forbes list of the world's highest-paid athletes explained

This is a list of the highest-paid athletes in the world as ranked by Forbes magazine.

2024 list

The 2024 list:^[1]

Rank	Name	Sport	Country	Total	Salary/winnings	Endorsements
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Association football	Portugal	$260 million	$200 million	$60 million
2	Jon Rahm	Golf	Spain	$218 million	$198 million	$20 million
3	Lionel Messi	Association football	Argentina	$135 million	$65 million	$70 million
4	LeBron James	Basketball	United States	$128.2 million	$48.2 million	$80 million
5	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Basketball	Greece	$111 million	$46 million	$65 million
6	Kylian Mbappé	Association football	France	$110 million	$90 million	$20 million
7	Neymar	Association football	Brazil	$108 million	$80 million	$28 million
8	Karim Benzema	Association football	France	$106 million	$100 million	$6 million
9	Stephen Curry	Basketball	United States	$102 million	$52 million	$50 million
10	Lamar Jackson	American football	United States	$100.5 million	$98.5 million	$2 million

2023 list

The 2023 list:^[2]

Rank	Name	Sport	Country	Total	Salary/winnings	Endorsements
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Association football	Portugal	$136 million	$46 million	$90 million
2	Lionel Messi	Association football	Argentina	$130 million	$65 million	$65 million
3	Kylian Mbappé	Association football	France	$120 million	$100 million	$20 million
4	LeBron James	Basketball	United States	$119.5 million	$44.5 million	$75 million
5	Canelo Álvarez	Boxing	Mexico	$110 million	$100 million	$10 million
6	Dustin Johnson	Golf	United States	$107 million	$102 million	$5 million
7	Phil Mickelson	Golf	United States	$106 million	$104 million	$2 million
8	Stephen Curry	Basketball	United States	$100.4 million	$48.4 million	$52 million
9	Roger Federer	Tennis	Switzerland	$95.1 million	$0.1 million	$95 million
10	Kevin Durant	Basketball	United States	$89.1 million	$44.1 million	$45 million

2022 list

The 2022 list:^[3]

Rank	Name	Sport	Country	Total	Salary/winnings	Endorsements
1	Lionel Messi	Association football	Argentina	$130 million	$75 million	$55 million
2	LeBron James	Basketball	United States	$121.2 million	$41.2 million	$80 million
3	Cristiano Ronaldo	Association football	Portugal	$115 million	$60 million	$55 million
4	Neymar	Association football	Brazil	$95 million	$70 million	$25 million
5	Stephen Curry	Basketball	United States	$92.8 million	$45.8 million	$47 million
6	Kevin Durant	Basketball	United States	$92.1 million	$42.1 million	$50 million
7	Roger Federer	Tennis	Switzerland	$90.7 million	$0.7 million	$90 million
8	Canelo Álvarez	Boxing	Mexico	$90 million	$85 million	$5 million
9	Tom Brady	American football	United States	$83.9 million	$31.9 million	$52 million
10	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Basketball	Greece	$80.9 million	$39.9 million	$41 million

2021 list

The 2021 list:^[4]

Rank	Name	Sport	Country	Total	Salary/winnings	Endorsements
1	Conor McGregor	Mixed martial arts		$180 million	$22 million	$158 million
2	Lionel Messi	Association football	Argentina	$130 million	$97 million	$33 million
3	Cristiano Ronaldo	Association football	Portugal	$120 million	$70 million	$50 million
4	Dak Prescott	American football	United States	$107.5 million	$97.5 million	$10 million
5	LeBron James	Basketball	United States	$96.5 million	$31.5 million	$65 million
6	Neymar	Association football	Brazil	$95 million	$76 million	$19 million
7	Roger Federer	Tennis	Switzerland	$90 million	$0.03 million	$90 million
8	Lewis Hamilton	Auto racing	United Kingdom	$82 million	$70 million	$12 million
9	Tom Brady	American football	United States	$76 million	$45 million	$31 million
10	Kevin Durant	Basketball	United States	$75 million	$31 million	$44 million

2020 list

The 2020 list:^[5]

Rank	Name	Sport	Country	Total	Salary/winnings	Endorsements
1	Roger Federer	Tennis	Switzerland	$106.3 million	$6.3 million	$100 million
2	Cristiano Ronaldo	Association football	Portugal	$105 million	$60 million	$45 million
3	Lionel Messi	Association football	Argentina	$104 million	$72 million	$32 million
4	Neymar	Association football	Brazil	$95.5 million	$70.5 million	$25 million
5	LeBron James	Basketball	United States	$88.2 million	$28.2 million	$60 million
6	Stephen Curry	Basketball	United States	$74.4 million	$30.4 million	$44 million
7	Kevin Durant	Basketball	United States	$63.9 million	$28.9 million	$35 million
8	Tiger Woods	Golf	United States	$62.3 million	$2.3 million	$60 million
9	Kirk Cousins	American football	United States	$60.5 million	$58 million	$2.5 million
10	Carson Wentz	American football	United States	$59.1 million	$55.1 million	$4 million

2010–2019 list

The 2010–2019 list:^[6]

Rank	Name	Sport	Nation	Earnings
1	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	Boxing	United States	$915 million
2	Cristiano Ronaldo	Association football	Portugal	$800 million
3	Lionel Messi	Association football	Argentina	$750 million
4	LeBron James	Basketball	United States	$680 million
5	Roger Federer	Tennis	Switzerland	$640 million
6	Tiger Woods	Golf	United States	$615 million
7	Phil Mickelson	Golf	United States	$480 million
8	Manny Pacquiao	Boxing	Philippines	$435 million
9	Kevin Durant	Basketball	United States	$425 million
10	Lewis Hamilton	Auto racing	United Kingdom	$400 million

2019 list

The 2019 list:

Rank	Name	Sport	Nation	Total	Salary/Winnings	Endorsements
1				$127 million	$92 million	$35 million
2				$109 million	$65 million	$44 million
3				$105 million	$75 million	$30 million
4				$94 million	$92 million	$2 million
5				$93.4 million	$7.4 million	$86 million
6				$89.5 million	$80.5 million	$9 million
7				$89.3 million	$80.3 million	$9 million
8				$89 million	$36 million	$53 million
9				$79.8 million	$37.8 million	$42 million
10				$65.4 million	$30.4 million	$35 million

2018 list

The 2018 list:

Rank	Name	Sport	Nation	Total	Salary/Winnings	Endorsements
1				$285 million	$275 million	$10 million
2				$111 million	$84 million	$27 million
3				$108 million	$61 million	$47 million
4				$99 million	$85 million	$14 million
5				$90 million	$73 million	$17 million
6				$85.5 million	$33.5 million	$52 million
7				$77.2 million	$12.2 million	$65 million
8				$76.9 million	$34.9 million	$42 million
9				$67.3 million	$62.3 million	$5 million
10				$59.5 million	$57.5 million	$2 million

2017 list

The 2017 list:^[7]

Rank	Name	Sport	Nation	Total	Salary/Winnings	Endorsements
1				$93 million	$58 million	$35 million
2				$86.2 million	$31.2 million	$55 million
3				$80 million	$53 million	$27 million
4				$64 million	$6 million	$58 million
5				$60.6 million	$26.6 million	$34 million
6				$50 million	$47 million	$3 million
6				$50 million	$16 million	$34 million
8				$47.3 million	$12.3 million	$35 million
9				$46.6 million	$26.6 million	$20 million
10				$46 million	$38 million	$8 million

2016 list

The 2016 list:^[8]

Rank	Name	Sport	Nation	Total	Salary/Winnings	Endorsements
1				$88 million	$56 million	$32 million
2				$81.4 million	$53.4 million	$28 million
3				$77.2 million	$23.2 million	$54 million
4				$67.8 million	$7.8 million	$60 million
5				$56.2 million	$20.2 million	$36 million
6				$55.8 million	$21.8 million	$34 million
7				$53.1 million	$41.1 million	$12 million
8				$52.9 million	$2.9 million	$50 million
9				$52.8 million	$20.8 million	$32 million
10				$50 million	$25 million	$25 million

2015 list

The 2015 list was released on 10 June 2015.^[9]

Rank	Name	Sport	Nation	Total	Salary/Winnings	Endorsements
1				$300 million	$285 million	$15 million
2				$160 million	$148 million	$12 million
3				$79.6 million	$52.6 million	$27 million
4				$73.8 million	$51.8 million	$22 million
5				$67 million	$9 million	$58 million
6				$64.8 million	$20.8 million	$44 million
7				$54.1 million	$19.1 million	$35 million
8				$50.8 million	$2.8 million	$48 million
9				$50.6 million	$0.6 million	$50 million
10				$49.5 million	$23.5 million	$26 million

2014 list

The 2014 list was released on 11 June 2014.^[10]

Rank	Name	Sport	Nation	Total	Salary/Winnings	Endorsements
1				$105 million	$105 million	$0
2				$80 million	$52 million	$28 million
3				$72.3 million	$19.3 million	$53 million
4				$64.7 million	$41.7 million	$23 million
5				$61.5 million	$30.5 million	$31 million
6				$61.2 million	$6.2 million	$55 million
7				$56.2 million	$4.2 million	$52 million
8				$53.2 million	$5.2 million	$48 million
9				$44.5 million	$14.5 million	$30 million
10				$43.8 million	$42 million	$1.8 million

2013 list

The 2013 list was released on 5 June 2013.^[11]

Rank	Name	Sport	Nation	Total	Salary/Winnings	Endorsements
1				$78.1 million	$13.1 million	$65 million
2				$71.5 million	$6.5 million	$65 million
3				$61.9 million	$27.9 million	$34 million
4				$59.8 million	$17.8 million	$42 million
5				$51 million	$40 million	$11 million
6				$49 million	$43 million	$6 million
7				$48.7 million	$4.7 million	$44 million
8				$47.2 million	$5.2 million	$42 million
9				$44 million	$23 million	$21 million
10				$41.3 million	$20.3 million	$21 million

2012 list

The 2012 list was released on 18 June 2012.^[12]

Rank	Name	Sport	Nationality	Total earnings	Salary/winnings	Endorsements
1				$85 million	$85 million	$0
2				$62 million	$56 million	$6 million
3				$59.4 million	$4.4 million	$55 million
4				$53 million	$13 million	$40 million
5				$52.7 million	$7.7 million	$45 million
6				$52.3 million	$20.3 million	$32 million
7				$47.8 million	$4.8 million	$43 million
8				$46 million	$9 million	$37 million
9				$42.5 million	$20.5 million	$22 million
10				$42.4 million	$32.4 million	$10 million

See also

• List of professional sports leagues by revenue
• List of salaries

External links

• The World's Highest-Paid Athletes List - Forbes

Notes and References

1. Web site: Birnbaum. Justin. The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes 2024. 8 June 2024. Forbes. en.
2. Web site: Knight. Brett. The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes 2023. 8 May 2023. Forbes. en.
3. Web site: Knight. Brett. The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Lionel Messi leads a group that collectively earned more than $990 million in 12 months, with the bar for entry higher than ever. 11 May 2022. Forbes. en.
4. Web site: Knight. Brett. The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes: Conor McGregor Leads A Group Of Sports Stars Unfazed By The Pandemic. 12 May 2021. Forbes. en.
5. Web site: Roger Federer Debuts In Top Spot On Forbes' Annual Ranking Of The World's 100 Highest-Paid Athletes, As Naomi Osaka Becomes Highest-Paid Female Athlete Ever. Forbes. en. 29 May 2020.
6. Web site: The Highest-Paid Athletes Of The Decade: Mayweather, Ronaldo And LeBron Dominate. Badenhausen. Kurt. Forbes. en. 22 January 2020.
7. Web site: The World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2017. Forbes. 27 August 2018.
8. Web site: The World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2016. Forbes. 27 August 2018. en.
9. Web site: Forbes Announces 2015 List Of The World's 100 Highest-Paid Athletes. Forbes. 16 July 2016.
10. Web site: Floyd Mayweather Heads 2014 List Of The World's Highest-Paid Athletes. Forbes. 16 July 2016.
11. Web site: The World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2013: Behind The Numbers. Forbes. 16 July 2016.
12. Web site: Mayweather Tops List Of The World's 100 Highest-Paid Athletes. https://web.archive.org/web/20120618220607/http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/06/18/mayweather-tops-list-of-the-worlds-100-highest-paid-athletes/. dead. 18 June 2012. Forbes. 16 July 2016.