The World’s 5 Highest-Paid Athletes 2024

Forbes

In the eight years since he became the world’s highest-paid athlete for the first time, much has changed for Cristiano Ronaldo. The 39-year-old Portuguese soccer star went from lighting up the Bernabéu with Real Madrid to stints with Juventus and Manchester United, until finally landing at his current home, Al Nassr of the Saudi Pro League. But no matter the location, one thing has remained constant—Ronaldo is still drawing outsized paydays.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/lists/athletes/  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.

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00:00In total, the world's 50 highest paid athletes hauled in an estimated $3.88 billion over

00:11the last 12 months before taxes and agents fees, up 13% from last year's record mark

00:17of $3.44 billion.

00:20$2.94 billion came from on-field earnings partly because of the Middle Eastern money

00:26continuing to flow into sports.

00:28The other $936 million is attributable to the endorsements, appearances, licensing and

00:34memorabilia income, down 13% year-over-year from $1.08 billion.

00:41Here are the world's five highest paid athletes in 2024.

00:46At number five, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

00:49Antetokounmpo was on the mend after a calf injury ended what was a tumultuous campaign

00:53for the Milwaukee Bucks star, undergoing a mid-season coaching change and helplessly

00:58watching his team suffer a first-round playoff exit.

01:02Off the court, his star continues to rise.

01:05He launched a production company in January, added a partnership with Pepsi's Starry Soft

01:10Drink in February, and has his sixth signature sneaker with Nike on the way later this year.

01:16At number four, LeBron James.

01:19James' future with the Los Angeles Lakers is the subject of speculation after another

01:23disappointing playoff exit.

01:25The four-time MVP has a $51.4 million player option with the team, according to SpotTrack,

01:32but has also expressed a desire to play with his eldest son, Bronny.

01:38In the meantime, James will make what is likely his final Olympic appearance as Team USA aims

01:43to win gold in Paris this summer.

01:46And as he contemplates life after the NBA, James added a partnership with DraftKings

01:50in January and joined a slew of celebrities investing in the golf world's new commercial

01:55venture PGA Tour Enterprises.

01:59At number three, Lionel Messi.

02:01Messi's arrival in Miami has been nothing short of a revelation for his new club.

02:07Inter-Miami has juiced ticket sales, staged a groundbreaking global preseason tour, and

02:12added a slew of lucrative sponsorships, including a partnership with Royal Caribbean, the most

02:17valuable jersey deal in MLS history.

02:20Off the field, Messi added lows to a group of sponsors that includes Adidas, Apple, and

02:26Konami.

02:27He also announced that he's partnering with the makers of White Claw Hard Seltzer to launch

02:31his own sports drink, Messi Plus, by Messi.

02:35At number two, Jon Rahm.

02:38Rahm's decision to join Live Golf last December has been enormously lucrative, even outside

02:43of the reported $350 million guarantee he received to join the Saudi-backed tour.

02:50While the Spaniard has yet to win a Live event, he's already earned $6.6 million from seven

02:55tournaments in 2024, which replaced him sixth on Live Tour's official money list this season.

03:02Rahm was also tapped to captain Live's 13th team, Legion 13, a title that has traditionally

03:08come with a 25% equity stake in the league's franchises.

03:14And at number one, Cristiano Ronaldo.

03:17Ronaldo's estimated total earnings of $260 million, an all-time high for a soccer player,

03:24makes him the world's highest-paid athlete for the fourth time in his career.

03:28That's largely thanks to his massive $200 million annual salary with Al Nasser, which

03:33has seemingly been a worthy investment for the Saudi Pro League club.

03:37He's also still enormously valuable to sponsors as well, frequently plugging his partners,

03:42which include crypto exchange Binance, to his 629 million Instagram followers.

03:49Ronaldo has also owned a $10.5 million check from his former club, Juventus, after an arbitrator

03:55ruled the Serie A team was still on the hook for outstanding wages dating back to a COVID-19

04:01pandemic pay cut.

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