World’s highest-paid sports athletes in 2022
But today's sports stars are not only athletes but marketing gold for the world’s most famous brands and business people themselves.
In fact, they are making more money off the field than on it, courtesy of lucrative endorsement deals and other off-field activities.
Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi sits at the front of the pack, banking a whopping $130 million last year.
Alongside the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner in the top-5 list are LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Stephen Curry.
Below is the list of the current top 50 highest-paid athletes in the world (based on research by Football Today):
1. Lionel Messi – Soccer – $130m
2. LeBron James – Basketball – $121.2m
3. Cristiano Ronaldo – Soccer – $115m
4. Neymar – Soccer – $95m
5. Stephen Curry – Basketball – $92.8m
6. Kevin Durant – Basketball – $92.1m
7. Roger Federer – Tennis – $90.7m
8. Canelo Alvarez – Boxing – $90m
9. Tom Brady – American Football – $83.9m
10. Giannis Antetokounmpo – Basketball – $80.9m
11. James Harden – Basketball – $76m
12. Tiger Woods – Golf – $73.5m
13. Matthew Stafford – American Football – $73.3m
14. Russell Westbrook – Basketball – $69.8m
15. Tyson Fury – Boxing – $69m
16. Josh Allen – American Football – $66.5m
17. Deshaun Watson – American Football – $56m
18. Klay Thompson – Basketball – $54.2m
19. Lewis Hamilton – Motorsports – $54m
20. Naomi Osaka – Tennis – $53.2m
21. Aaron Rodgers – American Football – $53m
22. Conor McGregor – Mixed Martial Arts – $52m
23. Damian Lillard – Basketball – $51.4m
24. Mike Trout – Baseball – $49.5m
25. Kylian Mbappe – Soccer – $48.8m
26. Patrick Mahomes – American Football – $48.6m
27. Kirk Cousins – American Football – $48.5m
28. Kyrie Irving – Basketball – $44.9m
29. Paul George – Basketball – $44m
30. Gareth Bale – Soccer – $43m
30. Max Verstappen – Motorsports – $43m
32. Anthony Davis – Basketball – $41.8m
33. Kawhi Leonard – Basketball – $41m
33. Marshon Lattimore – American Football – $41m
35. Amari Cooper – American Football – $40.8m
36. Jimmy Butler – Basketball – $40.5m
37. John Wall – Basketball – $40.4m
38. Ryan Ramczyk – American Football – $38.7m
39. Rory McIlroy – Golf – $38.4m
40. Trevor Bauer – Baseball – $38.2m
41. Eden Hazard – Soccer – $37.9m
42. Von Miller – American Football – $37.8m
43. T.J. Watt – American Football – $37.7m
44. Phil Mickelson – Golf – $37.1m
45. Gerrit Cole -Baseball – $37m
=46. Mike Williams – American Football – $36.8m
=46. Chris Godwin – American Football – $36.8m
48. Stefon Diggs – American Football – $36.2m
49. Chris Paul – Basketball – $35.8m
50. Devin Booker – Basketball – $35.5m
NBA Players Lead the Way
From James through Curry and Kevin Durant to Giannis Antetokounmpo, four NBA stars form part of the top-10 list of the world's highest-paid athletes.
But those four are only the tip of the iceberg, with another 32 NBA players making it to the top 100.
Apart from basketball, American Football (25), soccer (13) and baseball (12) are the only other sports to smash double digits.
However, it is worth noting that large proportions of the players' earnings come from off-field endeavors.
So, for example, Los Angeles Lakers talisman James made only one-third of his last year's income through his $41.2m on-court earnings.
The 37-year-old hit the $100m mark for the first time last year, mainly thanks to his off-field activities.
Not many sports stars can say they have over 198 million followers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, yet LeBron has got there.
James' off-field income streams include Fenway Sports Group, Blaze and SpringHill Entertainment.
Soccer Superstars Continue to Run the Show
When it comes to the soccer landscape, the likes of Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar are miles ahead of their peers.
The Argentine wizard raked in $130m since swapping his boyhood club Barcelona for PSG in the summer of 2021.
Messi's astounding endorsement portfolio, which included partnerships with Adidas, Budweiser and PepsiCo, now contains a high-paid agreement with Socios.
Manchester United ace Ronaldo still trails his arch-rival by $15m.
But Ronaldo's business interests away from the field lay the foundation for massive wealth growth beyond his playing career.
Neymar's current $95m earnings put him well behind the household duo, though unlike the two, the PSG hotshot still has plenty of top-level soccer in the tank.
Solo Endeavors Still Way Below Team Sports
Among the top 100 high earners, only 13 athletes come from solo sports.
For years, golf icon Tiger Woods had been a permanent top-10 fixture, but his $73.5m earnings fell short of the top 10 last year.
Unlike Woods, tennis legend Roger Federer occupies the seventh place on the list, courtesy of whopping $90m endorsement deals.
Interestingly, the Swiss star made 'just' $700,000 in tournament winnings last year.