A Record $3.9 Billion Haul For The World’s 50 Highest-Paid Athletes

Forbes

The 50 highest-paid athletes in the world set a record for earnings for the fourth consecutive year, combining to make $3.88 billion in the past 12 months. That total is up nearly 30% from 2021, and more than double what the top 50 was making a decade ago. Here are a few of the most eye-popping numbers from the athletes on this year’s list.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2024/05/16/a-record-39-billion-haul-for-the-worlds-50-highest-paid-athletes/?sh=5b3949071ee9  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00 Here's your Forbes daily briefing for Saturday, May 18th.

00:05 Today on Forbes, a record $3.9 billion haul for the world's 50 highest paid athletes.

00:14 The 50 highest paid athletes in the world set a record for earnings for the fourth consecutive

00:19 year, combining to make $3.88 billion in the past 12 months.

00:24 That total is up nearly 30% from 2021, and more than double what the top 50 was making

00:30 a decade ago.

00:32 Here are a few of the most eye-popping numbers from the athletes on this year's list.

00:37 $936 million.

00:40 That's the amount of money this year's list makers earned from their off-the-field endeavors,

00:44 including endorsements, appearances, licensing and memorabilia income, and other businesses.

00:50 Interestingly, this total is down 13% from last year's all-time high.

00:55 But on-field earnings set a record total this year of $2.94 billion.

01:01 $260 million.

01:04 That's the amount of money Cristiano Ronaldo made in the past 12 months.

01:08 The total lands him at number one on the list for the second consecutive year, and fourth

01:12 time in his career, nearly doubling his own record for soccer player earnings set last

01:17 year.

01:18 The majority of that total, an estimated $200 million, comes from his contract with club

01:23 Al Nasser of the Saudi Pro League.

01:27 $218 million.

01:30 That's Jon Rahm's earnings in the past 12 months, second most in the world, and the

01:34 highest total ever for golf.

01:36 The 29-year-old Spaniard received a massive payday to join the Saudi-backed Live Golf

01:41 Tour in December, and added another $20 million in endorsements from sponsors including Callaway,

01:47 Rolex, and Mercedes-Benz.

01:50 $85 million.

01:53 That's the amount of money earned by Canelo Alvarez in the past 12 months.

01:57 In addition to huge payouts for his fights against John Ryder last May and Jermel Charlo

02:02 in September, Alvarez has begun building a business empire away from the ring, owning

02:06 a string of gas stations and convenience stores in Mexico, among other ventures.

02:12 $45.2 million.

02:15 That's Devin Booker's earnings over the previous 12 months, which serve as the cutoff to rank

02:20 inside the top 50.

02:22 It's the same amount that would have qualified for number 50 on last year's list.

02:26 In 2020, the cutoff was $28.5 million.

02:30 $31.2 years old.

02:33 That's the average age of the athletes in this year's top 50, down from 33 last year.

02:39 While hitting the cutoff for this list remains elusive for those under 25, new maximum contract

02:44 rules in the NBA and huge signing bonuses in the NFL have allowed more athletes to cash

02:49 in at a younger age.

02:51 There are 22 athletes under the age of 30 this year, up from 17 a year ago.

02:57 $29.

02:59 That's the number of athletes from the United States.

03:01 The US remains the most represented country in this year's top 50, making up over half

03:06 the athletes.

03:07 The only other countries with multiple listees are the United Kingdom with four and France

03:12 with two.

03:14 $19.

03:15 That's the number of NBA players on this year's top 50, making basketball the most represented

03:20 sport by a comfortable margin.

03:23 NFL players take 11 spots, followed by 8 soccer players and 5 golfers.

03:28 $11.

03:30 That's the number of athletes on this year's list who earned $100 million or more in the

03:34 past 12 months, which is a record.

03:37 This is the first time in the history of the list that each member of the top 10 all earned

03:41 nine figures.

03:42 As recently as 2017, zero athletes cracked the $100 million mark.

03:48 $6.

03:50 That's the number of athletes 39 years old or older in the top 50.

03:54 Two of them, Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James, rank among the top five in earnings.

04:00 The others are 40-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 39-year-old F1 driver Lewis Hamilton,

04:06 39-year-old pitcher Max Scherzer, and the oldest athlete on the list, 48-year-old golfer

04:11 Tiger Woods.

04:13 $2.

04:14 That's the number of billionaires among this year's 50 highest-paid athletes.

04:18 Tiger Woods and LeBron James were the first and only athletes to reach billionaire status

04:23 during their playing careers.

04:25 The others, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, joined the 10-figure club long after retiring.

04:31 And $0.

04:33 That's the number of female athletes on this year's list.

04:36 Serena Williams was the only woman represented on last year's list, her sixth appearance,

04:41 but she is now retired and no longer eligible.

04:44 Only three other women have landed in the top 50 since 2012.

04:48 Tennis stars Maria Sharapova, Leigh Na, and Naomi Osaka.

04:54 For full coverage and to see the full highest-paid athletes list, see our video on the top five

04:59 and check out Matt Craig's piece on Forbes.com.

05:03 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

05:05 Thanks for tuning in.

05:07 [Music]

05:16 (upbeat music)

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