Money in sports has gone absolutely nuclear. If you’ve looked at the headlines lately, you’ve probably seen the eye-watering numbers being thrown at athletes in 2026. It’s not just "rich" anymore. We are talking about generational, nation-state level wealth.
But here’s the thing. When people ask about the highest paid sports in the world, they usually get two different answers that don't seem to match up. One person points at Cristiano Ronaldo’s half-a-billion-dollar deal in Saudi Arabia. Another points at the bench player for the Orlando Magic who’s making $12 million to play fifteen minutes a night.
So, who's actually right? Honestly, it depends on whether you're looking at the "lottery winners" at the very top or the "middle class" of the league.
The Average Salary King: Why the NBA is Unbeatable
If we are talking about the highest average paycheck, basketball is the undisputed heavyweight champion. Period.
As of the 2025-26 season, the average NBA player is pulling in roughly $11.91 million. That is a staggering amount of money for a "mean" salary. To put that in perspective, it’s about 155% more than what the average Major League Baseball player makes.
Why the massive gap? It's basically a math problem.
- Small Rosters: An NBA team only has 15 players.
- Massive Revenue: The league’s new $76 billion media rights deal—which kicked in for the 2025-26 season—is pumping record-breaking amounts of cash into the system.
- The Cap: Because there are so few players to split that multi-billion dollar pie, the individual slices are enormous.
Even a "role player" who isn't a household name is often making more than the star quarterback of an NFL team. Speaking of the NFL, despite it being the most profitable league in the United States (the Dallas Cowboys alone have an operating income of $629 million), the average player salary sits way lower, around **$2.7 million to $3 million**. Why? Because an NFL roster has 53 people. The pie is bigger, sure, but you have to cut it into way more pieces.
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The Individual Outliers: Soccer and the "Saudi Effect"
Now, if you ignore the averages and just look at who has the most zeros in their bank account, the conversation shifts entirely to soccer.
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the highest-earning athlete on the planet. Between his Al-Nassr contract and his "CR7" brand empire, he’s expected to rake in about $260 million to $275 million this year alone. It’s an anomaly. It's not "soccer" paying that; it's the Saudi Pro League's strategic push to buy global relevance.
Lionel Messi isn't far behind, though his path is different. His Inter Miami deal involves revenue sharing with Apple and Adidas. It’s more of a business partnership than a traditional salary.
The Top Earners of 2026 (Total Income)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer): $275 Million
- Stephen Curry (Basketball): $156 Million
- Tyson Fury (Boxing): $146 Million
- Dak Prescott (American Football): $137 Million
- Lionel Messi (Soccer): $135 Million
- LeBron James (Basketball): $133.8 Million
You'll notice boxing is in there too. Boxing is weird. It’s one of the highest paid sports in the world for about five people, and then the pay drops off a cliff. Tyson Fury or Canelo Álvarez can make $100 million in a single night. But the guy on the undercard? He might be fighting for $2,000 and a protein shake. It’s a "winner-takes-all" economy.
Baseball’s Slow and Steady Fortune
Major League Baseball often gets overlooked because the games are long and the pace is slower. But don't let the "leisurely" vibe fool you.
Baseball has something no other sport has: guaranteed long-term contracts.
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When Shohei Ohtani signed his $700 million deal with the Dodgers, it changed the math forever. Then you have Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets. Because there is no hard salary cap in MLB (only a luxury tax), owners can commit to paying a player until they are nearly 40 years old.
In the NFL, a team can cut you tomorrow and stop paying you. In the MLB, if they sign you for 10 years, you are getting every single penny even if you spend half those years on the injured list. This makes baseball the "safest" way to become a centimillionaire.
The LIV Golf Disruption
We can't talk about the highest paid sports in the world without mentioning golf. A few years ago, golf wouldn't even be in the top five.
Then LIV Golf showed up with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
Jon Rahm’s move to LIV involved a reported guarantee of $300 million. Scottie Scheffler, staying on the PGA Tour, is still making nearly $92 million through prize money and massive endorsements. Golf has become a sport where the "upfront" money now rivals the lifetime earnings of previous legends like Tiger Woods.
What Most People Get Wrong
People think "most popular" equals "highest paid." It doesn't.
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Cricket is the second most popular sport on earth. But until recently, the pay didn't reflect that. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is changing that fast, with players like Shreyas Iyer fetching record auction prices (over $3 million for a few weeks of work). On a "per-match" basis, the IPL is now one of the highest-paying leagues in existence.
But it still hasn't caught the NBA. It might never.
The NBA’s advantage is the lifestyle and endorsement potential. Basketball players have the highest "off-field" earnings. Their faces aren't covered by helmets (like the NFL) and they don't play on a massive pitch where you can barely see them from the stands (like soccer). They are close-up, marketable, and global.
Actionable Insights: The Financial Reality of Pro Sports
If you are looking at this from a career or business perspective, here is the "so what" of the 2026 sports market:
- Roster Density Matters: If you want a high guaranteed average, sports with small rosters (NBA) are the gold standard.
- Guarantees Over Totals: A $100 million NFL contract is often only worth $40 million in "real" guaranteed money. Always look at the "guaranteed at signing" clause.
- The Global Pivot: The highest individual paychecks are currently coming from emerging markets (Saudi Arabia) rather than traditional Western leagues.
- Endorsement Power: In 2026, an athlete is a media company. LeBron James earns almost as much from his "off-court" ventures as he does from the Lakers.
The gap between the top 1% and the rest of the sporting world is widening. While the highest paid sports in the world continue to shatter records, the real story is how the NBA has managed to make every single player on its roster a multimillionaire, while other sports only do that for their superstars.
To stay ahead of the sports business curve, track the upcoming NFL media negotiations in 2027 and the continued expansion of the Saudi Pro League, as these are the only two forces likely to challenge the NBA’s per-player dominance.