2024 Highest Paid Athletes: Messi lags behind Ronaldo, Rahm

Lionel Messi, Lebron James and Cristiano Ronaldo all feature in this year’s list of highest-paid athletes, but who sits on top? 

Every year, money in the world of sports keeps increasing, thanks to lucrative broadcast deals, sponsorship and endorsements. 

The stars that play a major role in entertaining fans are not left out of this largesse as there is enough money to go around. 

In fact, they are the major beneficiaries of these financial windfalls as they get paid all-time premium wages. 

For this reason, there is always a list of the highest-paid athletes every year. Every year the list changes and the money keeps increasing. 

This year is no different, especially with the Saudis trying to take over every sport.

The Saudi’s quest to be sports' new financial powerhouse is starting to take effect and athletes are a major beneficiary of their involvement. 

Golf stars who participated in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf are the major beneficiary along with footballers, who left Europe to play in the Saudi Arabia Professional League. 

The Saudis’ ridiculous financial offers have raised eyebrows across the world, with NBA stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lebron James saying they want a slice of the cake too. 

However, it does not mean that only athletes backed by the Saudis are the only ones who made money this year. 

In fact, athletes plying their trade in the United States of America are still ones that dominated this year’s list. 

With that said, let’s take a look at the top ten highest-paid athletes in the world. It’s important to note that all the figures and numbers quoted in this article were obtained from Forbes. 

10- Lamar Jackson ($100.5M)

Sitting in tenth place is NFL star, Lamar Jackson. The Baltimore Ravens star is in the top ten thanks to the  $72.5 million signing bonus in the contract he signed with the club last year. 

Lamar made most of his money this year on the pitch, thanks to the contract he signed, which fetched him $98.5 million. 

The 27-year-old also made a few dollars (: $2 million) off the pitch as he has an endorsement with Oakley and StatusPro in addition to a soul food restaurant, a production company, a record label and a clothing line called Era 8, which he owns. 

9- Stephen Curry-  $102M

In ninth place is Stephen Curry. Curry may be in his mid-30s, but he is still one of the highest-paid stars in the NBA. 

The Paris 2024 Olympics gold medalist is currently the highest-paid star in the NBA with $55.8M per year. 

This figure is set to increase 2026-2027 season to $62.6m a year. Aside from his on-pitch earnings, Curry also has many endorsements as he is one of the most marketable stars. He has a long-term deal with Under Armour, receiving $75 million worth of restricted stock units as part of the deal. 

8- Karim Benzema- $106M

Karim Benzema is the first player on the list to benefit from Saudi’s windfall. The former France international joined Al-Nassr from Real Madrid last year. 

That move made him one of the highest-paid footballers with a salary of $100m. Away from the pitch, the former Real Madrid star also earned $6m in endorsements. 

7- Neymar- $108m 

Another player playing in Saudi’s top flight sits in the seventh position. Like Benzema, Neymar also left the highest level of club football in Europe to join Saudi club Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain. 

However, it has not worked out for the club after he missed the whole of last season due to a knee injury. 

Nonetheless, that has not stopped the Brazilian from receiving big bucks. The former Barcelona star made $80m on-pitch despite missing last season and also added $20m from his numerous endorsements.

6- Kylian Mbappe- $110M

Former PSG star Kylian Mbappe is sixth with $110m in earnings. Mbappe is one of the highest-earning footballers in Europe following his move to Real Madrid. His range of endorsements also includes a deal with Nike, Oakley and Hublot. 

5- Giannis Antetokounmpo- $111M

Kicking off the top five is Giannis Antetokounmpo with $111m in earnings. The Greek is one of the highest-earning stars in the NBA with a $46m per season deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. 

Giannis also earns well off the pitch after launching a production company in addition to his deal with Pepsi and Nike. 

4- Lebron James- $128m

Lebron James may be a billionaire but he is number four on the list with $128m in earnings this year. 

Despite turning 40 in December this year, Lebron remains one of the highest-paid stars in the NBA with $48.2m. 

His range of endorsement deals also makes him one of the most marketable stars. Lebron has deals with brands like Nike, Beats by Dre, and DraftKings in addition to his multiple business ventures. 

3- Lionel Messi- $135M

Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest footballer in our lifetime, is number three on the list with a combined earnings of $135m. 

Messi, who moved to Inter Miami last year, made $65m on the pitch, which was part of the deal that took him to America. Off the pitch, Messi also has a lucrative deal with Lowe’s, Adidas, Apple and Konami. 

2- Jon Rahm-  $218M

Nobody benefitted from the Saudis more than Jon Rahm. Rahm’s decision to join Saudi-backed LIV earned him a ridiculous amount of money, even though he’s yet to win a LIV event. 

The Spaniard made $190m by joining the Saudi-backed tour and also earned $20M off the golf course. 

1- Cristiano Ronaldo- $260m

For the fourth time in his career, Cristiano Ronaldo tops this list with a record-breaking $260m in earnings this year. 

A large chunk of that money came from his salary with Al-Nassr, earning a mammoth $200m in a year. 

This is in addition to his off-pitch earnings, which is around $60m, thanks to deals with the likes of Nike, Herbalife, Clear Haircare and, more recently, Whoop.