This is a list of the highest-paid athletes in the world as ranked by Forbes magazine. The 100 top-earning athletes hail from 21 countries and compete in 11 sports with Americans and basketball players the most prevalent. Over the last 12 months, they banked a cumulative $3.11 billion with 29% derived from endorsements and appearances.
10) Lewis Hamilton - (Salary/winning-$38M & endorsement- $8M)
Lewis Hamilton is a British racing driver who races in Formula One for the Mercedes AMG Petronas team.He is considered as the greatest formula one driver in the history of sport. He is four-time Formula one world champion.The British race car driver is in the middle of a three-year contract extension that kicked off with the 2016 season. It is likely to pay out more than $120 million, including bonuses.
9) James Harden - (winning/salary-$26.6M & endorsement-$20M)
James Harden is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Harden became the first NBA player to score 2000 points as well as completed 2000 points in assisting. In the summer of 2016, the Rockets renegotiated the last two years of his contract to cover four years and worth $118 million.
8) Stephen Curry - (winning/salary-$12.3M & endorsement- $35M)
Stephen Curry an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also one of the greatest shooter in NBA history. He has got many titles such as he is 2 times NBA champion and 2 times NBA Most Valuable Player etc. The NBA's new collective bargaining agreement allows the Warriors to pay Curry more than $200 million over five years.Curry signed endorsements with JPMorgan Chase, Brita, Vivo and PressPlay.
7) Rory Mcilroy - (winning/salary-$16M & endorsement- $34M)
Rory Mcilroy is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland.He was world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking for 95 weeks. Nike signed McIlroy to a 10-year extension for apparel (Nike left the golf equipment business in 2016). The Northern Irish golfer also inked a long-term deal with TaylorMade in 2017.
6)Andrew Luck - (winning/salary- $47M & endorsement- $3M)
Andrew Luck is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). The Colts locked up their franchise quarterback in 2016 with a five-year, $123 million contract extension. The deal included a $32 million signing bonus and made Luck the NFL's highest-paid player based on average salary ($24.6 million) and guaranteed money ($87 million).
5) Kevin Durant - (winning/salary- $26.6M & endorsement- $34M)
Kevin Durant is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has got many titles such as an NBA championship, an NBA Most Valuable Player Award, the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, four NBA scoring titles, the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and two Olympic gold medal.
4) Roger Federer - (winning/salary-$6M & endorsement-$58M)
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player. He is currently World No. 2 in men’s singles. Federer has won 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in history for a male tennis player and has held the world No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings for a record total of 302 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks. Federer has won $104 million in prize money in his career.His endorsement partners include Nike, Wilson, Credit Suisse, Mercedes, Rolex, Lindt, Jura, Moet & Chandon, Sunrise and NetJets.
3) Lionel Messi - (winning/salary-$53M & endorsement-$27M)
Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team.Messi has a record-tying five Ballon d'Or awards,four of which he won consecutively, and a record-tying four European Golden Shoes. The German sportswear giant is responsible for half of Messi's $27 million in endorsement income.
2) LeBron James - (winning/salary-$31.2M & endorsement-$55M)
LeBron James is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).James has won three NBA championships, four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, three NBA Finals MVP Awards, two Olympic gold medals and many more. His lifetime deal with Nike could net him more than $1 billion. James owns a production company, SpringHill Entertainment, with his business manager, Maverick Carter.
1) Cristiano Ronaldo - (winning/salary-$58M & endorsement-$35M)
Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Portugal national team.Ronaldo has five Ballon d'Or awards.He is the first player in history to win four European Golden Shoes. His growing line of CR7 branded products now include shoes, underwear, fragrance, jeans and a line of hotels
