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When it comes to the highest paid athletes in the world, I assumed that soccer players would dominate the list. And they do with 4 of the top 5 spots.
Interestingly, I found that NBA players hold 6 out of the top 17 spots for the highest overall earnings in 2022.
The list also includes 4 football players, 1 tennis player, 1 golfer, and 1 boxer.
1. Lionel Messi
Sport: Soccer
2022 Total Earnings: $130M
Age: 35
Years as a professional athlete: 19
2022 earnings from endorsements: $55M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: >$1B
Messi has been on the Forbes list top 5 highest paid athletes since 2014. According to The Sporting News, he is the 8th highest paid athlete of all time. He has over $1 Billion in lifetime earnings from his salary and endorsements.
Messi comes in second after Canelo Alvarez for 2022 earnings from salary/winnings at $75M.
2. Kylian Mbappe
Sport: Soccer
2022 Total Earnings: $128M
Age: 23
Years as a professional athlete: 6
2022 earnings from endorsements: $18M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $209.5M
Kylian Mbappe finalized his contract after Forbes published their list of top paid athletes for 2022.
Mbappe’s renewed contract with Paris Saint-Germain will give him the highest salary for an athlete in the world, earning over $100M/year. At 23, he is the youngest soccer player to reach this milestone.
3. LeBron James
Sport: Basketball
2022 Total Earnings: $121M
Age: 37
Years as a professional athlete: 19
2022 earnings from endorsements: $80M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $1.1B
James has boasted as the top 5 on the Forbes List of Highest Paid Athletes since 2020 and top 10 in 2012. He bypasses other NBA players with higher salaries in total income due to his endorsements.
According to The Sporting News, he is the 7th highest paid athlete of all time.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
Sport: Soccer
2022 Total Earnings: $115M
Age: 37
Years as a professional athlete: 20
2022 earnings from endorsements: $55M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $1B+
The news around Ronaldo these days focuses on how little he is playing. Article after article discusses how he is more of a spectator than a player this season. However, he still sits in the top 5 of highest earning athletes for the year and 5th highest earning athlete of all time.
5. Neymar Jr.
Sport: Soccer
2022 Total Earnings: $95M
Age: 30
Years as a professional athlete: 13
2022 earnings from endorsements: $25M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: ~$610M
Neymar Jr. is another Paris Saint-Germain player in the top 5 highest paid athletes in the world, along with teammates Messi and Mbappe. This is his fourth year on the top 10 highest paid athletes list.
Neymar signed an extension with the team until 2025 with hefty performance bonuses.
6. Stephen Curry
Sport: Basketball
2022 Total Earnings: $92.8M
Age: 34
Years as a professional athlete: 13
2022 earnings from endorsements: $47M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: ~$680M
Curry is one of the highest paid basketball players with over $40 million in annual salary. He has consistently been on the top 10 highest earning athletes since 2017.
Curry holds the record for most 3-pointers in NBA history, including 402 in a single season.
7. Kevin Durant
Sport: Basketball
2022 Total Earnings: $92.1M
Age: 34
Years as a professional athlete: 15
2022 earnings from endorsements: $50M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: ~$650M
With endorsement deals from Nike and Foot Locker, Durant has been one of the highest paid athletes in the world for several years.
He holds the title of the youngest player to ever lead the NBA in scoring during his rookie season at 19 years old.
8. Roger Federer
Sport: Tennis
2022 Total Earnings: $90.7M
Age: 41
Years as a professional athlete: 24
2022 earnings from endorsements: $90M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $1.1B
Federer retired after the 2022 season during which he made $70K on the court and $90M from endorsements. That is the highest endorsement earnings of any athlete in 2022.
He ended his 24-year career with over $1.1 Billion in estimated total gross earnings.
This Swiss tennis player is the 10th highest earning athlete in the world of all time.
9. Canelo Alvarez
Sport: Boxing
2022 Total Earnings: $90M
Age: 32
Years as a professional athlete: 17
2022 earnings from endorsements: $5M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $170M+
If this list were based on earnings per professional appearance, Canelo Alvarez would be at the top of the list. Over just 7 fights, Alvarez has earned $115M, $70M in 2 fights versus Gennady Golovin in 2017 and 2018. And that doesn’t include the commission percentage from PPV.
10. Tomy Brady
Sport: Football
2022 Total Earnings: $83.9M
Age: 45
Years as a professional athlete: 22
2022 earnings from endorsements: $52M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $475M
After a 40-day retirement in February 2022, the famous quarterback returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and still made the top 10 highest earners for the year.
Brady is the highest-paid player in NFL history with over $475M in career earnings. However, his annual salary ranks 16th in the NFL for the 2022-2023 season.
11. Giannis Antetokounmpo
Sport: Basketball
2022 Total Earnings: $80.9M
Age: 27
Years as a professional athlete: 9
2022 earnings from endorsements: $41M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $288M
Antetokounmpo is one of the highest awarded NBA players of all time with 2 consecutive MVP awards, Defensive Player of the Year award, and 6x NBA All-Star, among many others.
His sponsors include Nike, JBL, and Anheuser Busch.
12. Russell Westbrook
Sport: Basketball
2022 Total Earnings: $79.2M
Age: 34
Years as a professional athlete: 14
2022 earnings from endorsements: $45M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $450M+
A 9x All-NBA Team member, Westbrook currently plays for the L.A. Lakers. He launched a unisex apparel brand called Honor the Gift in 2016. In 2021, he produced the film Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre which was nominated for a Primetime Emmy.
13. James Harden
Sport: Basketball
2022 Total Earnings: $74.4M
Age: 33
Years as a professional athlete: 12
2022 earnings from endorsements: $30M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $560M
Harden currently plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, though he is most known for his seasons playing for the Houston Rockets. While in Houston, Harden achieved the MVP award and broke several scoring records.
He holds endorsements from Adidas, Beats Electronic, BodyArmor, and State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance.
14. Matthew Stafford
Sport: Football
2022 Total Earnings: $72.3M
Age: 34
Years as a professional athlete: 13
2022 earnings from endorsements: $2.5M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $260+
Stafford’s yearly income for 2022 skyrocketed with the contract renewal for the NFL Rams. The contract guaranteed $63M at signing.
This large jump in his income comes after winning his first-ever Superbowl during his first season with the Rams in 2022.
15. Aaron Rodgers
Sport: Football
2022 Total Earnings: $68M
Age: 38
Years as a professional athlete: 18
2022 earnings from endorsements: $11M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $350M
Rodgers has been the starting NFL quarterback for the Green Bay Packers since 2008. He is a Super Bowl Champion, Super Bowl MVP, and 4x NFL MVP.
He holds the NFL’s highest paid salary for the 2022 season at over $50 million.
16. Tiger Woods
Sport: Golf
2022 Total Earnings: $68M
Age: 46
Years as a professional athlete: 27
2022 earnings from endorsements: $68M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: $1.7B
Less than 10% of his total career earnings comes from playing golf. In 2022, he made an estimated $40K from golf in two tournaments and $68M in endorsement earnings.
According to The Sporting News, he is the second highest paid athlete of all time behind Michael Jordan.
17. Josh Allen
Sport: Football
2022 Total Earnings: $67M
Age: 26
Years as a professional athlete: 4
2022 earnings from endorsements: $4M
Estimated Total Career Earnings: ~$100M
Allen’s base salary of $4M got a bump in 2022 from a $42.4M option bonus. The Buffalo Bills quarterback was drafted in 2018 with an annual salary of $5.3M.
In 2021, he signed a 6-year contract with the Bills guaranteeing him $150M in salary earnings during that term.
Leslie Cramer is a personal finance writer and business strategist for entrepreneurs. A single mom to 3 young boys, she is building generational wealth for her family. Her passion is helping other female entrepreneurs achieve financial independence and personal freedom. Leslie started her first business at 16 years old and has been an entrepreneur ever since.
It is no wonder that the normal working individual cannot afford to purchase most sporting events when athletes are getting this kind of money.