Every year, Forbes releases a list of the professional athletes that are making the most money throughout the world. And it seems like every year, Cristiano Ronaldo comes in at No. 1.
The Portuguese soccer legend continues to rack up the dough, and he’ll continue to dominate the list as long as he stays at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. It’s no surprise that a Saudi-funded athlete comes in at No. 2, but it may be a shock to some as for who it is.
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These are the Top 10 highest-paid athletes in the world in 2024.
- Cristiano Ronaldo: $260 million total earnings
- Jon Rahm: $218 million total earnings
- Lionel Messi: $135 million total earnings
- LeBron James: $128.2 million total earnings
- Giannis Antetokounmpo: $111 million total earnings
- Kylian Mbappe: $110 million total earnings
- Neymar: $108 million total earnings
- Karim Benzema: $106 million total earnings
- Stephen Curry: $102 million total earnings
- Lamar Jackson: $100.5 million total earnings
That makes it five soccer players in the Top 10, three NBA players, one golfer and one NFL star.
If we expand to the Top 15, we get our first MLB player and boxer. As well as two more NFL players and one more NBA player.
- Joe Burrow: $100 million total earnings
- Kevin Durant: $93.3 million total earnings
- Shohei Ohtani: $85.3 million total earnings
- Canelo Alvarez: $85 million total earnings
- Patrick Mahomes: $84.4 million total earnings
Mahomes used to be higher on this list in previous years, but some younger quarterbacks have gotten huge contract extensions as the NFL salary cap has increased. Mahomes is under contract until 2032, but he’s likely to ask for and receive a lofty extension at some point within the next few seasons.