The annual one Forbes The list for the highest paid athlete has been released and history has been made in the top 10.
For the first time ever, the ten stars have each earned more than $100 million (£78 million), for a total of $1.38 billion (£1.03 billion).
The financial boom in sports knows no bounds in terms of wages and endorsements – and athletes are the main beneficiaries.
This is immediately exemplified by NFL star Lamar Jackson. The 27-year-old is ranked 10th on the list with £79 million ($100.5 million) and his status is due to the £57 million signing bonus he received from the Baltimore Ravens after signing a new contract last year. Again, he negotiated that as his own agent, which meant no one else got a cut.
In ninth place on this list is the best shooter in basketball history: Stephen Curry.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson is the 10th highest-paid athlete of 2024, according to the Forbes list
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (right) is ninth and will earn a total of £81 million by 2024
The Golden State Warriors Point Guard’s earnings total £81 million ($102 million). His exploits with a ball earn him just over £41 million, with the rest coming through off-field deals such as his sponsorship with Under Armour.
Karim Benzema is the first footballer on the list and is in eighth place with a fee of £84 million ($106 million). It is clear where the French striker’s income comes from, with his move to Saudi side Al-Ittihad last year being the dominant factor.
The 36-year-old earns £79million playing for the Saudi Pro League, with the remaining difference coming off the pitch.
It’s back-to-back footballers, as Neymar (£85m/$108m) is seventh. Like Benzema, he left European football for the Middle East and joined Al-Hilal. That deal with the club amounts to £63 million in income for the Brazilian. The rest comes through endorsement deals, including the launch of his own signature football boot with Puma.
The hat-trick of footballers is completed by a former teammate of Benzema and Neymar in sixth place: Kylian Mbappe (£87m/$110m).
The 25-year-old will leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer, but not before making a staggering £71 million on the pitch.
Mbappe – who has deals with Nike, Oakley and Hublot – is expected to join Real Madrid this summer.
Karim Benzema is the first footballer on the list and, due to his Saudi move, is in eighth place with a fee of £84 million
Ex-Paris Saint-Germain teammates Neymar (left) and Kylian Mbappé are seventh and sixth
NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo is fifth on this list (£88 million/$111 million) and is the first athlete here to earn more money outside the sport he plays.
The Milwaukee Bucks cornerstone will earn £36 million this year, with £51 million coming from outside basketball. In January, the ‘Greek Freak’ launched a production company and will release a sixth signature shoe with Nike later this year.
Antetokounmpo is only surpassed by one other basketball player on this list and that is LeBron James (£101m/$128.2m).
The four-time NBA champion earned £38 million from the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024, but the majority of his earnings come from elsewhere.
In addition to his endorsements of Nike, James signed a deal with DraftKings in January and has also invested in PGA Tour Enterprises to expand his portfolio.
Basketball stars Giannis Antetokounmpo (left) and LeBron James are fifth and fourth on the list
Lionel Messi is third on the list with earnings of £107 million ($135 million). Like Antetokounmpo and James, he earns more from non-playing activities.
His arrival at MLS side Inter Miami last year put the club in the spotlight as he saw their commercial revenues and opportunities increase. In addition to Adidas, Apple and Konami, there are reports that the Argentina captain is also about to launch his own sports drink this summer with the maker of White Claw Hard Seltzer.
The biggest 2023 Forbes riser, however, is Jon Rahm (£172m/$218m), who is now second on the list – up from 28th place 12 months ago.
Rahm shocked the golf world in December when he announced he would be joining Saudi Arabia-backed revel LIV Golf. The staggering move has already seen the Spaniard pocket £156million.
Like Forbes details; Although he has yet to win an LIV event, he has already earned £5.2 million ($6.6 million) from seven tournaments in 2024, which would put him sixth on the PGA Tour’s official money list this season (as of Monday) .
The influence of the Middle East – and specifically Saudi Arabia – is strong in this list and that is underlined by the man at the top of this 10: Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 39-year-old is set to collect £205 million this year – a figure that could see him top the Forbes list for the fourth time in his career.
Lionel Messi (left) is third with £107 million, while Jon Rahm is second with earnings of £172 million
Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way with profits of £205 million this year – with £157 million from Al-Nassr
By playing for Al-Nassr, the Portuguese superstar can earn as much as £157 million from his employers. He has recouped their investment by plundering 33 goals in 28 games so far, topping the goalscoring charts.
The rest of the £48 million is made up of Ronaldo’s stunning array of off-field deals.
Nike and Herbalife are among those companies, and Ronaldo recently joined Whoop as their global ambassador on Monday. Ronaldo’s partnership and investment coincides with the announcement that Whoop is expanding its availability to Gulf Cooperation Council regions – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain – in addition to Hong Kong, Israel, Korea and Taiwan.