Cristiano Ronaldo has once again secured the title of the world’s highest-paid athlete in 2024, with a staggering total income of $260 million, Al Jazeera reports, citing Sportico.
The report, however, highlights a significant disparity in earnings, revealing that no female athletes made it into the top 100.
The leading 100 athletes, primarily from sports such as football, NBA, NFL, golf, and boxing, collectively earned an estimated $6.2 billion in 2023. This figure is comprised of $4.8 billion in salary and prize money, along with $1.4 billion in endorsement deals.
Coco Gauff, the former US Open tennis champion, emerged as the highest-earning female athlete last year, with a total income of $30.4 million. This figure falls considerably short of the $37.5 million earned by Daniel Jones, quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL, who ranked 100th on the overall list.
Ronaldo’s lucrative contract with Saudi Arabian football team Al-Nassr played a crucial role in his retaining the top spot for a second consecutive year. He joined the Saudi Pro League in December 2022. Sportico reports that the Portuguese forward earned a substantial $215 million in wages, in addition to $45 million from endorsements.
The gap between Ronaldo and other top athletes is substantial. Stephen Curry, guard for the Golden State Warriors, ranked second on the list with an income of $153.8 million, more than $100 million less than Ronaldo.
Rounding out the top five are British boxer Tyson Fury ($147 million), Inter Miami’s Argentinian captain Lionel Messi ($135 million), and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James ($133.2 million).
The top 100 athletes represent eight different sports and hail from 27 countries.
While Coco Gauff, at just 20 years old, has the potential to climb the ranks in the future, several female athletes in the past would have made the top 100 list based on their earnings. In 2022, Forbes reported that Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka was the highest-paid female athlete, with $57.3 million in prize money and endorsements. Serena Williams, the retired tennis icon with 23 Grand Slam singles titles, earned $41.8 million in 2021, according to Forbes.
