Who are the top 10 highest-paid athletes in the world now?
Sportsmen do earn a lot, we all know this perfectly well. Let’s look at the top 10 highest paid athletes in the world in 2018. All these people are some of the most successful on our planet, and we are sure that you are a fan of at least one of them.
Photo: forbes.com
Who are the top 10 highest paid athletes in the world?
How can we find out who are the top 10 highest paid athletes in the world right now? This is easy. Thanks to Forbes selection of the highest-paid sportsmen, we can figure out the names of the luckiest and surely the most hardworking men (ladies are not on the latest ranking as their earnings were not as high in 2018) who were chosen from more than 20 countries.
Men who made it to the top 100 highest earning athletes in the world right now compete in several different sports. The total earnings they got in the last twelve months is approximately 3.8 billion U.S. dollars. Isn’t it incredible?
READ ALSO: Top 10 richest footballers in the world
Photo: forbes.com
World's highest paid athletes
Who are the top 10 highest paid athletes in the world 2018? They are listed below. Enjoy!
1. Floyd Mayweather
This is a well-known 41-year-old American. He was listed by Forbes as the number 1 celebrity on the list of Top 100 Celebrities 2018.
His main source of finances is boxing. How many millions of Nigerians watch this sports and cheer for Floyd Mayweather? We are sure many of us are in love with such entertainment. Well, the famous man’s salary has reached about 275 million U.S. dollars plus another 10 million U.S. dollars come from endorsements.
One of the most exciting fights with Mayweather was in the summer of 2017. It took place in Las Vegas against Conor McGregor. Mr. Floyd was lucky to earn his impressive millions back then.
2. Lionel Messi
Soccer is probably the most popular sports in Nigeria. Some prefer cheering for Cristiano Ronaldo, while others are big fans of Lionel Messi.
This highest paid footballer from Argentina is one of the top players on our planet and one of the richest sportsmen in the world. His recent salary reached about 84 million U.S. dollars plus he earned money from endorsement deals (another 27 million U.S. dollars).
The football season 2017-2018 made Messi the top scorer in several most important European Leagues. He scored 45 goals, which sounds impressive. Besides being the winner by a number of goals, Lionel Messi is also one of the Top 100 Celebrities of 2018 (he is number 8 on the Forbes’ list).
3. Cristiano Ronaldo
Just as we said, there are many fans of this soccer player who live in Nigeria. The incredible highest paid footballer from Portugal knows how to look good and earn a lot.
His latest winnings reached approximately 61 million U.S. dollars plus he earned another impressive 47 million U.S. dollars from endorsement deals.
No wonder, as he is the best player on the globe plus he is one of the world's highest paid athletes right now and definitely the most recognized sportsman. His social media account on Instagram, for example, is followed by over 151 million people.
4. Conor McGregor
Football is not the only sports that can make you extremely rich. Conor McGregor is in love with mixed martial arts, and his hobby is his career and wealth.
The famous sportsman from Ireland earned about 85 million U.S. dollars plus another 14 million U.S. dollars as endorsements. This totals 99 million U.S. dollars. Not too bad, isn't it?
The huge amount of money was banked from the fight with Floyd Mayweather in 2017. That fun entertainment also brought him to the 12th place in the list of Top 100 Celebrities of 2018. At the age of 30 years old, these are the inspiring results.
5. Neymar
There is another professional football player on our list among the highest paid in the world. The famous Brazil superstar has earned about 73 million U.S. dollars plus 17 million dollars as endorsement deals, which totals a cool figure of 90 million U.S. dollars.
Right now, the footballer plays for the Paris Saint-Germain club. But he also used to represent Barcelona, advertise famous brands like Nike, McDonald's, Red Bull, and others, and be very attractive as a 26-year-old can be.
It is curious that Neymar has got his thirteenth position at the list of Celebrity 100 in 2018 and become the first ever footballer to enjoy the exclusive (custom) Swoosh’s Air Jordan sneakers.
6. LeBron James
Tall guys who play basketball can also earn a lot of money if they are successful like LeBron James is. This awesome player from the United States of America boasts cool salary of over 33 million U.S. dollars. Plus, he manages to earn even more through endorsements (52 million U.S. dollars).
The total of more than 85 million U.S. dollars is great wealth to enjoy. Being one of the richest athletes in the world, LeBron is also the youngest basketball player who got thirty thousand career points.
Mr. James is also present on the list of Celebrity 100 (2018). He is placed at the 17th position in this ranking by Forbes.
7. Roger Federer
The Switzerland tennis player has proved that this sport can also make you one of the top 10 highest-paid athletes in the world by earnings.
Roger Federer, according to Forbes, has earned over 12 million U.S. dollars recently. Besides, his endorsement deals with Lindt and Mercedes-Benz brought him the incredible extra of 65 million U.S. dollars, which totals over 77 million U.S. dollars.
The 37-year-old tennis player is number 23 on the list of Top 100 Celebrities of 2018.
8. Stephen Curry
This is another basketball player included to the list of the world's highest paid athletes. Stephen Curry earns nearly 35 million U.S. dollars by just playing basketball. Besides, he is paid approximately 42 million U.S. dollars as endorsements.
The professional basketball player from the USA has earned over 76 million U.S. dollars total. At the age of 30 years old, this is an overwhelming achievement. Do you agree?
9. Matt Ryan
Soccer is not the only ‘football’ that is loved across the world. American football can also bring you incredible money and make you one of the highest paid athletes in the world. For example, Matt Ryan from the USA has earned over 62 million U.S. dollars from salary. His endorsement contracts have brought him another 5 million U.S. dollars, increasing his totals to more than 67 million U.S. dollars.
The popular quarterback is 33 years old. He lives in Georgia (Atlanta) and plays for the Falcons.
His name is also present in the Celebrity 100 ranking of 2018. He is signed the 29th position at that list.
10. Matthew Stafford
This is another American Football player whose earnings have made him one of the world's highest earning athletes right now. His earnings have got over 57 million U.S. dollars. He also endorses for some famous brands which bring him about 2 million U.S. dollars on top of his salary.
The American superstar is 30 years old. He lives in Michigan (Detroit) and is pretty famous in the United State of America. No wonder he has been added to the list of 100 Celebrities 2018, where he is placed on the 36th position.
Top 10 richest athletes in the world of all time
Every year the rankings of the world’s richest and highest paid people change. Some manage to earn more money and multiply their wealth, others fail to preserve what they have.
According to Forbes, the highest paid athletes in the world of all time are:
- Michael Jordan (he earned more than 1.85 billion U.S. dollars as of 2017)
- Tiger Woods (his career earnings reached the total of 1.7 billion U.S. dollars)
- Arnold Palmer (the late man earned 1.4 billion U.S. dollars on sports)
- Jack Nicklaus (his earnings during career reached 1.2 billion U.S. dollars)
- Michael Schumacher (he earned 1 billion U.S. dollars throughout career)
- Phil Mickelson (his career earnings have reached approximately 815 million U.S. dollars)
- Kobe Bryant (the player’s career has brought him about 800 million U.S. dollars)
- David Beckham (the famous footballer earned approximately 800 million U.S. dollars when playing soccer)
- Floyd Mayweather (his total earnings have already reached approximately 785 million U.S. dollars)
- Shaquille O’Neal (the impressive career has brought him about 735 million U.S. dollars)
You have learned the names of the top 10 highest earning athletes in the world of all time and those who are currently the top paid sportsmen on our planet!
READ ALSO: Top 10 richest sportsmen in the world
Source: Legit.ng