A Record $3.9 Billion Haul For The World’s 50 Highest-Paid Athletes

  • 5 months ago
The 50 highest-paid athletes in the world set a record for earnings for the fourth consecutive year, combining to make $3.88 billion in the past 12 months. That total is up nearly 30% from 2021, and more than double what the top 50 was making a decade ago. Here are a few of the most eye-popping numbers from the athletes on this year’s list.

Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2024/05/16/a-record-39-billion-haul-for-the-worlds-50-highest-paid-athletes/?sh=5b3949071ee9

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Transcript
00:00 Here's your Forbes daily briefing for Saturday, May 18th.
00:05 Today on Forbes, a record $3.9 billion haul for the world's 50 highest paid athletes.
00:14 The 50 highest paid athletes in the world set a record for earnings for the fourth consecutive
00:19 year, combining to make $3.88 billion in the past 12 months.
00:24 That total is up nearly 30% from 2021, and more than double what the top 50 was making
00:30 a decade ago.
00:32 Here are a few of the most eye-popping numbers from the athletes on this year's list.
00:37 $936 million.
00:40 That's the amount of money this year's list makers earned from their off-the-field endeavors,
00:44 including endorsements, appearances, licensing and memorabilia income, and other businesses.
00:50 Interestingly, this total is down 13% from last year's all-time high.
00:55 But on-field earnings set a record total this year of $2.94 billion.
01:01 $260 million.
01:04 That's the amount of money Cristiano Ronaldo made in the past 12 months.
01:08 The total lands him at number one on the list for the second consecutive year, and fourth
01:12 time in his career, nearly doubling his own record for soccer player earnings set last
01:17 year.
01:18 The majority of that total, an estimated $200 million, comes from his contract with club
01:23 Al Nasser of the Saudi Pro League.
01:27 $218 million.
01:30 That's Jon Rahm's earnings in the past 12 months, second most in the world, and the
01:34 highest total ever for golf.
01:36 The 29-year-old Spaniard received a massive payday to join the Saudi-backed Live Golf
01:41 Tour in December, and added another $20 million in endorsements from sponsors including Callaway,
01:47 Rolex, and Mercedes-Benz.
01:50 $85 million.
01:53 That's the amount of money earned by Canelo Alvarez in the past 12 months.
01:57 In addition to huge payouts for his fights against John Ryder last May and Jermel Charlo
02:02 in September, Alvarez has begun building a business empire away from the ring, owning
02:06 a string of gas stations and convenience stores in Mexico, among other ventures.
02:12 $45.2 million.
02:15 That's Devin Booker's earnings over the previous 12 months, which serve as the cutoff to rank
02:20 inside the top 50.
02:22 It's the same amount that would have qualified for number 50 on last year's list.
02:26 In 2020, the cutoff was $28.5 million.
02:30 $31.2 years old.
02:33 That's the average age of the athletes in this year's top 50, down from 33 last year.
02:39 While hitting the cutoff for this list remains elusive for those under 25, new maximum contract
02:44 rules in the NBA and huge signing bonuses in the NFL have allowed more athletes to cash
02:49 in at a younger age.
02:51 There are 22 athletes under the age of 30 this year, up from 17 a year ago.
02:57 $29.
02:59 That's the number of athletes from the United States.
03:01 The US remains the most represented country in this year's top 50, making up over half
03:06 the athletes.
03:07 The only other countries with multiple listees are the United Kingdom with four and France
03:12 with two.
03:14 $19.
03:15 That's the number of NBA players on this year's top 50, making basketball the most represented
03:20 sport by a comfortable margin.
03:23 NFL players take 11 spots, followed by 8 soccer players and 5 golfers.
03:28 $11.
03:30 That's the number of athletes on this year's list who earned $100 million or more in the
03:34 past 12 months, which is a record.
03:37 This is the first time in the history of the list that each member of the top 10 all earned
03:41 nine figures.
03:42 As recently as 2017, zero athletes cracked the $100 million mark.
03:48 $6.
03:50 That's the number of athletes 39 years old or older in the top 50.
03:54 Two of them, Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James, rank among the top five in earnings.
04:00 The others are 40-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 39-year-old F1 driver Lewis Hamilton,
04:06 39-year-old pitcher Max Scherzer, and the oldest athlete on the list, 48-year-old golfer
04:11 Tiger Woods.
04:13 $2.
04:14 That's the number of billionaires among this year's 50 highest-paid athletes.
04:18 Tiger Woods and LeBron James were the first and only athletes to reach billionaire status
04:23 during their playing careers.
04:25 The others, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, joined the 10-figure club long after retiring.
04:31 And $0.
04:33 That's the number of female athletes on this year's list.
04:36 Serena Williams was the only woman represented on last year's list, her sixth appearance,
04:41 but she is now retired and no longer eligible.
04:44 Only three other women have landed in the top 50 since 2012.
04:48 Tennis stars Maria Sharapova, Leigh Na, and Naomi Osaka.
04:54 For full coverage and to see the full highest-paid athletes list, see our video on the top five
04:59 and check out Matt Craig's piece on Forbes.com.
05:03 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
05:05 Thanks for tuning in.
05:07 [Music]
05:16 (upbeat music)

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