Money in sports has officially gotten weird. You think you know who’s making the most, but the gap between "rich" and "generational wealth" just widened into a canyon.
Take a look at the latest numbers from 2025 and 2026. If you’re still thinking about Michael Jordan’s old contracts, you’re in for a shock. We aren’t just talking about salary anymore. We’re talking about sovereign wealth funds, equity stakes, and social media footprints that dwarf the GDP of small nations.
Cristiano Ronaldo is still at the top. It feels like he’s been there forever, doesn't it? He pulled in an estimated $260 million to $275 million over the last year. Most of that comes from his Al-Nassr contract in Saudi Arabia, which is basically a license to print money. But he also banked roughly $60 million off the pitch.
Think about that. His "side hustle" earns more than almost every other athlete’s primary salary.
The Shocking Shift in the Top 100 Paid Athletes
The list isn't just a leaderboard. It's a map of where global power is shifting. A few years ago, you’d see a heavy mix of European soccer and American basketball. Now? The Middle East has fundamentally broken the old pay scales.
Jon Rahm is a perfect example. He moved to LIV Golf and suddenly his bank account exploded. He’s sitting comfortably in the top ten now, with total earnings hitting around $100.7 million. That’s a lot of green for hitting a little white ball.
But it’s not just golf and soccer.
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Boxing still delivers those massive, singular paydays. Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez recently jumped to the number two spot with roughly $137 million. He actually bumped Lionel Messi down a peg. Messi is currently sitting at $130 million, which is honestly "low" for him, but he’s playing the long game with Inter Miami. He turned down a literal billion-dollar offer from the Saudis because he wanted the Miami lifestyle and a piece of the MLS Apple TV revenue.
Who's Winning the Money Race?
Basketball still dominates the sheer volume of the list. The NBA is a factory for millionaires.
- LeBron James: $128.7 million. Still the king of off-court earnings with $80 million in endorsements.
- Stephen Curry: $105.4 million. His Under Armour deal is basically a retirement plan on steroids.
- Kevin Durant: $100.8 million. He’s quietly becoming one of the best tech investors in the game.
The NFL is catching up, though. Quarterback contracts are getting out of hand. Dak Prescott recently hit the $137 million mark thanks to a massive signing bonus that front-loaded his year. Then you have guys like Joe Burrow and Jordan Love signing deals that average $55 million a year.
It’s getting to the point where being a "good" NFL quarterback is a better financial move than being a superstar in almost any other industry.
The Baseball Outliers
Baseball is an odd one. Shohei Ohtani is probably the most interesting financial case in sports history. His Dodgers contract is famously deferred—he only takes a tiny fraction of it now—but he makes $100 million a year just from endorsements. He is a walking billboard in two hemispheres.
On the flip side, you have Juan Soto. He just locked in a monster year at $129.2 million. Baseball’s lack of a hard salary cap means the ceiling for stars is basically nonexistent if the owner has deep enough pockets.
Why the Numbers Aren't What They Seem
When you look at the top 100 paid athletes, you have to distinguish between "on-field" and "off-field" money.
The total pool for the top 100 hit over $6 billion this year. But only about $1.4 billion of that was from endorsements. The rest? Pure salary and prize money. This is a massive shift from ten years ago when the biggest stars made the bulk of their cash from Nike or Pepsi.
Now, the teams (or the countries owning the teams) are the ones writing the biggest checks.
The Gender Gap is Still a Crater
Here is the uncomfortable part. Not a single woman made the top 100 this year.
Coco Gauff is currently the highest-earning female athlete, bringing in about $31 million. That’s incredible money, but it’s still a few million short of the #100 spot on the men's list, which usually hovers around $34 million to $38 million. The revenue from media rights for women's sports is growing faster than anything else in the industry, but the "total earnings" rankings haven't caught up yet. It's a lag that most experts expect to break by 2027 or 2028 as the new WNBA and NWSL TV deals kick in.
Breaking Down the Top 10 by the Numbers
If you want to see the elite of the elite, here’s how the top of the mountain looked over the last twelve months:
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer): $260M - $275M (The Saudi effect)
- Canelo Álvarez (Boxing): $137M (The king of PPV)
- Lionel Messi (Soccer): $130M (The Miami transition)
- Juan Soto (Baseball): $129.2M (That New York money)
- LeBron James (Basketball): $128.7M (The business mogul)
- Karim Benzema (Soccer): $115M (Another Saudi beneficiary)
- Stephen Curry (Basketball): $105.4M (The Golden State anchor)
- Shohei Ohtani (Baseball): $102.5M (Endorsement powerhouse)
- Kevin Durant (Basketball): $100.8M (Elite consistency)
- Jon Rahm (Golf): $100.7M (The LIV Golf pioneer)
The Hidden Costs of Being at the Top
We see the big numbers. We don't see the taxes.
Most of these guys are losing 40% to 50% to the government immediately. Except, of course, for the ones playing in places like Saudi Arabia or Florida, where the tax structures are a lot friendlier. This is actually why Inter Miami is such a "cheap" move for Messi compared to playing in a high-tax state like California or New York.
Agents also take their 3% to 5%. Then there are the "entourages," the trainers, the chefs, and the private security.
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Being a top-tier athlete is basically like running a medium-sized corporation. You have a massive overhead.
What about the "Lower" End?
The guys at the bottom of the top 100—ranked 90th to 100th—are still clearing $34 million.
Think about that for a second. The 100th "richest" athlete in the world earns more in a year than most CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. We're seeing names like Robert Lewandowski ($38M) and Harry Kane ($43M) sliding down the list not because they're making less, but because everyone else is making so much more.
Actionable Insights for the Future
The world of sports finance is moving toward equity. The smartest athletes on this list aren't just taking cash; they're taking "points" in the business.
If you're following the business of sports, keep an eye on these three things:
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- Streaming Revenue Shares: Like Messi’s Apple TV deal, more stars will demand a cut of the subscriptions they drive.
- The Saudi Influence: The Saudi Pro League and LIV Golf aren't going anywhere. They have set a new "floor" for what a superstar is worth.
- Personal Brands over Team Brands: Shohei Ohtani proves you don't need a massive salary if your personal brand is global.
To stay ahead of these trends, look at the next round of NBA media rights negotiations. That is where the next explosion of salary cap space will come from, likely pushing the first $100 million-per-year NBA salary into reality by the end of the decade.
The barrier to entry for the top 100 is only going up. In five years, $50 million might not even get you a seat at the table.