Top 10 Highest-Paid Athletes in the World 2024

Henry

May 30, 2024

Top 10 Highest-Paid Athletes in the World 2023

The world's highest-paid athletes in 2023 are led by Cristiano Ronaldo, who earned an estimated $136 million. This includes $46 million from his playing salary and incentives and $90 million from endorsements, appearances, licensing income, and other commercial ventures.

Ronaldo is followed by Lionel Messi, who earned $130 million, and Kylian Mbappé, who earned $120 million. These three athletes are among a group of eight who each made more than $100 million over the course of the preceding 12 months, which is twice as much as any other year.

The other five athletes in the top 10 are:

LeBron James ($119.5 million)
Canelo Álvarez ($110 million)
Dustin Johnson ($107 million)
Phil Mickelson ($106 million)
Stephen Curry ($100.4 million)

Ronaldo's move to Saudi Arabia to play for Al Nassr helped him to unseat Floyd Mayweather from the top spot. Mayweather earned a staggering $285 million in 2018, but that was largely due to his one-night fight with Conor McGregor.

The 2023 list is also notable for the number of young athletes who made it into the top 10. Mbappé, who is only 24 years old, is the youngest player to ever make the list. Johnson, who is 37 years old, is the oldest player.

List of the Highest-Paid Athletes in The World 2023

Rank	Name	Sport	Country	Total
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Football	Portugal	$136 million
2	Lionel Messi	Football	Argentina	$130 million
3	Kylian Mbappé	Football	France	$120 million
4	LeBron James	Basketball	United States	$119.5 million
5	Canelo Álvarez	Boxing	Mexico	$110 million
6	Dustin Johnson	Golf	United States	$107 million
7	Phil Mickelson	Golf	United States	$106 million
8	Stephen Curry	Basketball	United States	$100.4 million
9	Roger Federer	Tennis	Switzerland	$95.1 million
10	Kevin Durant	Basketball	United States	$89.1 million

Mayweather, Ronaldo and Tiger Woods are the only three athletes to top the best-paid list over the past 18 years. Woods ranks 16^th this year with $43.3 million.

The top 100 athletes earned a total of $3.8 billion in the last 12 months thanks to an hefty pay day for Floyd Mayweather in one night after his fight with Mcgregor.

List of highest-paid athletes of all time

Highest paid athlete of all time? Here is the list of the highest paid athletes of all time:

Rank	Athlete	Country	Sport	Pro	Inflation Adjusted Earnings
1	Michael Jordan	United States	Basketball	1984	$2.62 billion
2	Tiger Woods	United States	Golf	1996	$2.1 billion
3	Arnold Palmer	United States	Golf	1954	$1.5 billion
4	Jack Nicklaus	United States	Golf	1961	$1.38 billion
5	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	Soccer	2002	$1.24 billion
6	Floyd Mayweather	United States	Boxing	1996	$1.2 billion
7	LeBron James	United States	Basketball	2003	$1.17 billion
8	Lionel Messi	Argentina	Soccer	2004	$1.14 billion
9	Michael Schumacher	Germany	Racing	1991	$1.13 billion
10	Roger Federer	Switzerland	Tennis	1998	$1.12 billion
11	Phil Mickelson	United States	Golf	1992	$1.08 billion
12	David Beckham	United Kingdom	Soccer	1992	$1.05 billion
13	Kobe Bryant	United States	Basketball	1996	$930 million
14	Shaquille O’Neal	United States	Basketball	1992	$870 million
15	Greg Norman	Australia	Golf	1976	$815 million
16	Mike Tyson	United States	Boxing	1985	$775 million
17	Alex Rodriguez	United States	Baseball	1993	$650 million
18	Manny Pacquiao	Philippines	Boxing	1995	$630 million
19	Kevin Durant	United States	Basketball	2007	$625 million
20	Lewis Hamilton	United Kingdom	Racing	2007	$620 million
21	Neymar	Brazil	Soccer	2009	$615 million
22	Jeff Gordon	United States	Racing	1990	$595 million
23	Oscar de la Hoya	United States	Boxing	1992	$580 million
24	Peyton Manning	United States	Football	1998	$570 million
25	Derek Jeter	United States	Baseball	1992	$555 million