In May 2024, the famous US business magazine, Forbes, published its annual list of the best-paid sports stars in the world. This always makes for interesting reading and it is no real surprise that the earnings of this select group have grown significantly.
Indeed, for the first time since Forbes started compiling such stats, all 10 of the elite members on the list made at least $100m. Being a US publication, the figures for each star are shown in US dollars, and the total earned by the top 10 was a staggering $1.38bn. Forbes include athletes’ total earnings, meaning what they get paid for their day job – on-field earnings – as well as their off-field income, which chiefly consists of sponsorship and endorsement earnings.
One interesting thing about the list (which is classed as 2024 but includes part of 2023, being based on the 12 months prior to its compilation), is how off-pitch income has soared. We will look at that in more detail shortly but for now, let’s cut to the chase. Who made the top 10?
Forbes Biggest Earners in 2024
Lionel Messi may be the GOAT when it comes to football but when it comes to making money, it is his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, who holds sway. Messi boasts more World Cup victories (albeit just the one), and more Ballons d’Or (eight to Ronaldo’s five), but Ronaldo has topped this Forbes list on four occasions, easily ahead of the diminutive Argentine. The Portuguese star made it 4-2 by leading the way in 2024, as we can see…
- Cristiano Ronaldo, $260m, football
- Jon Rahm, $218m, golf
- Lionel Messi, $135, football
- LeBron James, $128.2m, basketball
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, $111m, basketball
- Kylian Mbappe, $110m, football
- Neymar, $108m, football
- Karim Benzema, $106m, football
- Stephen Curry, $102m, basketball
- Lamar Jackson, $100.5m, American football
Ronaldo Riches Rise
Ronaldo, who topped this list in 2023 as well, saw his earnings skyrocket. Twelve months ago the Portuguese legend and global sports icon earned a mere $136m. Barely enough to keep him in hair gel and body oil. However, thanks to his move to Saudi football – and Saudi money plays a significant role in the 2024 top 10 – his on-field earnings grew dramatically.
Last year (the 2023 Forbes list) he was thought to have made around double off the pitch as on it, with a split of $46m from salary and $90m from sponsorship. However, his move to Saudi side, Al Nassr, changed all that, and according to Forbes in the last 12 months he made a massive $200m through his salary and $60m from off-pitch endorsements and deals.
The former Real Madrid star earned more from his deal with Al Nassr than any other sportsperson has ever made in a single year, when taking into account their combined on- and off-field income. Any other person, that is, apart from the man who is ranked second on the Forbes 2024 top 10.
Rahm Another to Bank Saudi Cheque
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Golfer, Jon Rahm, controversially joined the new LIV Tour, backed by Saudi Arabia and fronted by Greg Norman, accepting a humungous pay cheque to ditch the main tours. Any top golfer opting to join the LIV Tour would be a big story, but the fact that Rahm had previously spoken out against it, and that he was the world number three at the time (having been number one not long before) made it a huge story.
For a few years, the Spanish ace had denied having any interest in joining the breakaway. He said that $400m would not really change his life and he already had enough to retire. He also stated that, “I’ve never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons. I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world. I’ve always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA Tour has that.”
However, to borrow from Mike Tyson’s famous quote, everyone has a plan until they actually see $400m! Some claim Rahm is in line for well over $500m in total from his deal with LIV but full details have not been revealed. Forbes put his income in the 12 months in question at a more modest (these things are of course relative) $198m, plus $20m from sponsorship and similar deals. More than enough to make the Spaniard the second-highest earner in the world of sport.
Saudi Cash Makes Seismic Splash
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Two other footballers who ply their trade in Saudi Arabia also feature in the top 10, with French striker, Karim Benzema, reportedly earning $100m from his deal with Al-Ittihad, whilst Neymar made a little less from his deal with Al Hilal (a paltry $80m) but made far more in endorsements. The Saudi football project still has a long way to run and the Pro League is hardly a serious threat to the main European Leagues just yet. Equally, Newcastle United are a long way off from challenging for the Champions League.
Spending huge sums does not deliver instant results but what it does do is alter the nature of the Forbes list. In the 2020 top 10, and again in 2021 and 2022, the top 10 earners earned their money almost exactly equally in terms of the split between salary/winnings/prize money on the one hand, and endorsements and sponsorship deals on the other.
In 2023, we saw that change, with off-field income around $200m less than salary. Two golfers, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, LIV defectors, were largely responsible for this. Between them they earned $206m from “playing golf” (we use the term loosely because the reality is these payments are more akin to sponsorship by the Saudi state than real earnings, which in golf are dependent on performance). Their endorsements were worth just $7m.
In 2024, that gap between the two spheres of earning grew even wider. The top 10 made around $401m off the pitch, but a massive $978m on it. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is investing staggering sums in almost every major sport. The investment from this financial colossus is changing the world of sport in so many ways and that is a trend that we expect to continue in 2025, especially if players such as Mo Salah and other leading footballers make the switch to the Saudi Pro League.