Article Summary
- Forbes released the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2023 list, which includes salaries, bonuses, and endorsements.
- The top 10 list is dominated by football, basketball, and golf players, with one representative each from boxing and tennis.
- Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with a total of $136 million, followed closely by Lionel Messi with $130 million and Kylian Mbappe with $120 million. LeBron James and Canelo Álvarez complete the top five with $119.5 million and $110 million, respectively.
American business magazine, Forbes has released its annual ranking of the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2023. The list includes salaries (pretax) for the 2022-23 season, bonuses and endorsements.
The list which is topped by three football players has an estimated total of $ 1.11 billion calculated prior to taxes and agents’ fees over the last 12 months. The total for this year increased by $ 120 million and 12% compared to that of last year which is $ 990 million and 5% from the record of $1.06 billion set in 2018.
The World’s 10 Highest Paid Athletes list contains 3 athletes from the footballing world, 3 from basketball, and 2 from Golf while Boxing and Tennis have a representative each.
Cristiano Ronaldo tops the Forbes list for the first time since 2017 following his big-money move to Saudi Arabia where he earns a huge $ 75 million salary annually, with a total of $ 136 million. He sits ahead of his fierce rival, Lionel Messi, who is just $ 6 million shy away from Ronaldo’s total.
The two rivals are followed closely by French star, Kylian Mbappe who has a total of $ 120 million. The French star has the highest-paying salary in the world of football earning $ 100 million from his on-field activities.
NBA legend LeBron James is next on the list with a revenue of $ 119.5 million and Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez completes the top five with a revenue of $110 million.
Tennis legend, Rodger Federer who announced his retirement from Tennis in September is 9th on the list with a huge $ 95 million earned from sponsorship activities.
The top 10 highest-paid athletes are:
Name: Cristiano Ronaldo
Sports: Football
On Field: $46million
Off Field: $90million
Total: $136million
Name: Lionel Messi
Sports: Football
On Field: $65million
Off Field: $65million
Total: $130million
Name: Kylian Mbappe
Sports: Football
On Field: $100million
Off Field: $20million
Total: $120million
Name: LeBron James
Sports: Basketball
On Field: $44.5million
Off Field: $75million
Total: $119.5million
Name: Canelo Alvarez
Sports: Boxing
On Field: $100million
Off Field: $10million
Total: $110million
Name: Dustin Johnson
Sports: Golf
On Field: $102million
Off Field: $5million
Total: $107million
Name: Phil Mickelson
Sports: Golf
On Field: $104million
Off Field: $2million
Total: $106million
Name: Stephen Curry
Sports: Basketball
On Field: $48.4million
Off Field: $52million
Total: $100.4million
Name: Rodger Federer
Sports: Tennis
On Field: $0.1million
Off Field: $95million
Total: $95.1million
Name: Kevin Durant
Sports: Basketball
On Field: $44.1million
Off Field: $45million
Total: $89.1million