According to Forbes' statistics, Ronaldo remains the highest-earning athlete in the past 12 months.
As usual, the renowned financial magazine Forbes has just released its list of the highest-earning athletes in the past 12 months. According to their statistics, for the first time in history, there are up to 10 stars earning over $100 million USD per year, and the total income of the top 10 athletes combined reached $1.38 billion USD!
[caption id="attachment_5339" align="alignnone" width="600"] Ronaldo remains the highest-earning athlete in the sports world.[/caption]
Among the top 10 highest-earning athletes listed above, there are up to 5 football players. This is understandable as the Saudi Pro League has no salary cap. The highest-earning athlete in 2024 remains Cristiano Ronaldo.
Despite being 39 years old, the Portuguese superstar still earns a staggering income of $260 million USD. Accordingly, CR7 receives $200 million USD in salary and bonuses from Al Nassr and $60 million USD from advertising and brand endorsements.
Of course, Ronaldo does not disappoint the Saudi Arabian magnate. The Portuguese superstar continues to perform exceptionally well, scoring 36 goals in just 32 appearances for Al Nassr this season, with 33 goals coming from the Saudi Pro League. This achievement is likely to help CR7 secure the "Golden Boot" as he currently leads the league's top scorers, with the second-highest scorer, Aleksandar Mitrovic, trailing by 7 goals.
While Al Nassr is extremely pleased with what they've invested, two other Saudi giants, Al Ittihad and Al Hilal, find themselves in bitter situations. Al Ittihad hoped to replicate Al Nassr's success by signing Benzema for free. They made the French striker the 8th highest-earning athlete in the past 12 months, with $106 million USD ($100 million USD in salary, $6 million USD from other sources).
However, Benzema did not perform like Ronaldo. The former Real Madrid star only managed to score 9 goals in the Saudi Pro League. His performances on the field were often disappointing, and he was frequently reminded by Al Ittihad's head coach about weight issues, training attitudes, and performance.
Al Hilal, on the other hand, suffered even more bitterness by paying $80 million USD in salary to Neymar. Additionally, the Brazilian forward earned an extra $28 million USD from advertising, placing him 7th on the list of the top 10 highest-earning athletes. However, the former Barcelona and PSG star only played in 5 matches and sat out the rest due to injury.
Neymar's former teammate Mbappe ranks 6th on this list with a total income of $110 million USD, of which $90 million USD comes from salary and $20 million USD from other sources. Meanwhile, superstar Lionel Messi ranks third on this list with $135 million USD. The Argentine forward earns a salary of $65 million USD per season, but his off-field contracts earn him an additional $70 million USD.
The remaining names on this list are Jon Rahm (golf, $218 million USD), LeBron James (basketball, $128.2 million USD), Giannis Antetokounmpo (basketball, $111 million USD), Steph Curry (basketball, $102 million USD), and lastly Lamar Jackson (American football, $105 million USD).
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