Here's How The World's Youngest And Highest-Paid Athletes Make Their Earnings

Forbes

After another promising Champions League run ended unceremoniously for Paris Saint-Germain, in a semifinal loss last week to underdog German club Borussia Dortmund, star striker Kylian Mbappé declined to answer questions about his future. Most believe the 25-year-old French phenom’s departure this summer to Real Madrid is a foregone conclusion.  Then again, soccer pundits were also certain Mbappé would jump to the Spanish giants in 2022. His last-minute change of heart to stay in France Ligue 1 was spurred on by a personal plea from French president Emmanuel Macron himself, and a contract that Forbes estimates paid him at least $90 million per year.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2024/05/16/worlds-highest-paid-athletes-25-and-under-2024/?sh=4c1407fb73a7  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Here's your Forbes daily briefing for Monday, May 20th.

00:05Today on Forbes, the world's highest paid athletes 25 and under for 2024.

00:13After another promising Champions League run ended unceremoniously for Paris Saint-Germain

00:18in a semi-final loss almost two weeks ago to underdog German club Borussia Dortmund,

00:24star striker Kylian Mbappe declined to answer questions about his future.

00:29Most believe the 25-year-old French phenom's departure this summer to Real Madrid is a

00:33foregone conclusion.

00:36Then again, soccer pundits were also certain Mbappe would jump to the Spanish Giants in

00:402022.

00:42His last-minute change of heart to stay in France League One was spurred on by a personal

00:46plea from French president Emmanuel Macron himself and a contract that Forbes estimates

00:51paid him at least $90 million per year.

00:55That princely sum, in addition to endorsement deals with Nike, Oakley and Hublot, brought

01:00the 25-year-old Mbappe's estimated earnings over the past 12 months to $110 million, enough

01:07to make him the sixth highest paid athlete in the world.

01:11It's far more than anyone his age or younger earned last year.

01:15Just five of the 50 top-earning athletes are 25 or younger, collecting a combined $319.5

01:22million over the last 12 months, including $250.5 million from their playing salaries

01:27and bonuses.

01:29The other $69 million comes from endorsements, appearances, licensing, memorabilia and any

01:34businesses they run.

01:37Reaching that level of earning power at such a young age continues to be a rare accomplishment,

01:42as most major American sports leagues have a restricted salary scale for players in their

01:46first few years competing.

01:49Players in MLB often don't even make it to free agency before their 26th birthday, and

01:53NHL salaries trail other sports even for veterans.

01:57However, the upper echelon of athlete pay does appear to be getting younger.

02:02New maximum contract extension rules in the NBA and lucrative signing bonuses in the NFL

02:08have allowed more players to cash in while still in their 20s.

02:11The average age of the top 50 athletes is just over 31 years old this year, down from

02:1633 a year ago, with 22 athletes making the cut under the age of 30, up from 17 athletes

02:22last year.

02:24Having completed their rookie contracts and played their first season under league maximum

02:28extensions, Atlanta Hawks guard Trey Young and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson

02:34make their debuts on the earnings list this year, joining Manchester City forward Erling

02:38Holland and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic as returning names.

02:42Here's how they ran up the score on earnings.

02:46Mr. Kylian Mbappe at No. 1 is 23-year-old Erling Holland of the soccer club Manchester

02:50City.

02:52His on-field earnings were $46 million while his off-field earnings added $15 million for

02:57a total of $61 million over the past 12 months.

03:01The dynamic striker had a historic first season in the Premier League, setting the record

03:05for most goals scored in a season as his team won the league title as well as the FA Cup

03:10and Champions League, the second-ever continental treble.

03:14A treble in football is when a team wins three major trophies in a single season.

03:19As one of the new faces of world soccer, the Norwegian was rewarded with a massive Nike

03:23contract, the cover of the EA Sports FC 24 video game, and endorsement deals from brands

03:29in fashion, with Dolce & Gabbana, fitness, Prime Hydration, and lifestyle, beats by Dre.

03:36Holland is under contract with Manchester City through 2027, but did little to reassure

03:41the team's supporters when he responded to transfer rumors by telling reporters in March,

03:46quote,

03:47You never know what the future brings.

03:49At No. 3 is Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic.

03:53The 25-year-old point guard earned a total of $55.1 million, including $40.1 million

03:59on the court and $15 million off.

04:02Doncic launched his own production company last year, called 77X, and its first project

04:07was a short-form documentary series following Doncic's Slovenian national team during the

04:12FIBA Basketball World Cup.

04:14Relative to other MVP-caliber ballers, his endorsement portfolio is on the light side.

04:20He represents Nike's Jordan brand, sports card maker Panini, and the Slovenian tourism

04:25board.

04:26He makes most of his money from a Supermax contract extension he signed in 2022, and

04:31should he stay with the Mavs when he becomes eligible for his next extension in 2025, he

04:35could be looking at a five-year deal worth more than $350 million.

04:41At No. 4 and 5, as we said, are two young athletes making their debut on the list.

04:46The 25-year-old Atlanta Hawks guard Trey Young with $47.3 million in earnings, and the 23-year-old

04:53New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson with $46.1 million.

04:59For full coverage and to see our highest paid athletes list, check out Matt Craig's piece

05:03on Forbes.com

05:06This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

05:09Thanks for tuning in.

Category

Transcript

Recommended