Recently, Forbes, an American business magazine, released the top 10 list of highest-paid athletes in 2022, based on on-field and off-field earnings.
The Forbes’ latest on-field earnings include all prize money, salaries and bonuses earned from 1st May 2021 to 1st May 2022.
In the meantime, off-field earnings are based on an estimate of sponsorship deals, appearance fees and memorabilia and licensing income and cash returns from any businesses for the 12 months between 1st May 2021 and 1st May 2022.
Top 10 list of highest-paid athletes in 2022
10. Giannis Antetokounmpo – $80.9m ($39.9m in on-field + $41m in off-field)
The 27-year-old Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Awards winner serves for Milwaukee Bucks.
Apart from his investment in timepiece resale platform WatchBox, Antetokounmpo is a brand ambassador of NFT platform NFTSTAR and WhatsApp, and he has the endorsement deal of Google’s Pixel 6 phone.
9. Tom Brady – $83.9m ($31.9m in on-field + $52m in off-field)
Just a few months ago, the 44-year-old American football quarterback Tom Brady announced his return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from his earlier short retirement. He is holding many popular NFL records, including the most passing touchdowns since turning 40-year-old.
Brady is the co-founder of Autograph (an NFT platform), Religion of Sports (a production company), 199 Productions (a production company that is working on the upcoming sports comedy film 80 for Brady), and BRADY (a clothing brand) etc. He also has a lucrative deal with Fox Sports for a commentary role after retirement from the game.
8. Canelo Alvarez – $90m ($85m in on-field + $5m in off-field)
The 31-year-old Canelo Alvarez is a famous Mexican professional boxer who is the Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion of the world.
While Alvarez owns a taco restaurant in Mexico, he has also a lucrative partnership with Hennessy, a French producer of cognac (brandy). Alvarez also runs Canelo Promotions, a promotional company that operates majorly in Mexico.
7. Roger Federer – $90.7m ($0.7m in on-field + $90m in off-field)
The 40-year-old Swiss professional tennis player Roger Federer is one of the greatest tennis players in history. He is the former no.1 tennis player, who has 20 Grand Slam titles, including a record of eight men’s singles Wimbledon titles.
Apart from promoting the brands like Uniqlo and Rolex, Federer has also invested in Swiss shoe brand On.
6. Kevin Durant – $92.1m ($42.1m in on-field + $50m in off-field)
The 33-year-old American professional basketball player Kevin Durant is a superstar. He is serving for Brooklyn Nets.
Durant has deals with Nike, Coinbase, NBA Top Shot and Weedmaps. He is also the co-founder of media company Boardroom and investment firm Thirty Five Ventures. Durant has also invested in OpenSea (an NFT platform) and Future (a digital fitness startup).
5. Stephen Curry – $92.8m ($45.8m in on-field + $47m in off-field)
The 34-year-old American professional basketball player Stephen Curry is one of the greatest basketball players. He is serving for Golden State Warriors for a long-time. Last season, he was the highest-paid NBA player.
While Curry has a production company Unanimous Media, he is also a global brand ambassador and shareholder in the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. He also recently released a collection of NFTs.
4. Neymar – $95m ($70m in on-field + $25m in off-field)
The 30-year-old Brazilian footballer Neymar is one of the greatest forwards of this generation. He is a versatile player in the forward who serves for the French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Neymar has many endorsements, including Puma and Red Bull. Recently, NFTSTAR has signed an exclusive license agreement with the Brazilian footballer for NFT collections.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo – $115m ($60m in on-field + $55m in off-field)
The 37-year-old Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo is known as one of the greatest footballers in history. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is the most international goal-scorer as a male player. He is currently playing for the English Premier League club Manchester United.
Ronaldo has substantial social media followers that make him powerful in the global endorsement. Apart from his deals with Nike, Herbalife and Clear shampoo, Ronaldo is also an investor in Tatel restaurants. He is also the face of ZujuGP, a forthcoming app aiming to be a digital soccer community.
2. LeBron James – $121.2m ($41.2m in on-field + $80m in off-field)
LeBron James is a 37-year-old American professional basketball player, serving for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time.
James has recently announced an endorsement deal with Crypto.com, while he has invested in Tonal (a home gym company) and StatusPRO (a sports tech startup that creates virtual reality training products). Last October, he sold a significant minority stake in SpringHill, a production company.
1. Lionel Messi – $130m ($75m in on-field +$55m in off-field)
The 34-year-old Argentine footballer Lionel Messi is one of the greatest footballers of all time. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is a forward of French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Messi has endorsement deals with Adidas, Budweiser, PepsiCo, Socios etc. He is also the first athlete brand ambassador of Hard Rock International.
