Cristiano Ronaldo Reclaims Title as World’s Highest-Paid Athlete

Author: Dian Kencana
February 17, 2025

Cristiano Ronaldo. (Instagram/@cristiano)

SEAToday.com,Jakarta - Cristiano Ronaldo has once again topped the list of the world's highest-paid athletes in 2024. According to a report from Sportico, the Portuguese star earned a total of $260 million.

However, the top 100 highest-paid athletes list does not include a single female athlete. The majority of those on the list come from football, the NBA, NFL, golf, and boxing, with a combined total income of $6.2 billion last year. Of this amount, approximately $4.8 billion came from salaries and prize money, while $1.4 billion was generated from sponsorships and endorsements.

Tennis player Coco Gauff was the highest-paid female athlete last year, earning $30.4 million. However, her earnings were still lower than Daniel Jones, an NFL player from the Minnesota Vikings, who ranked 100th with an income of $37.5 million.

Ronaldo has held the top position for two consecutive years since joining Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr in December 2022. The 40-year-old player earned $215 million from his salary and an additional $45 million from sponsorship deals.

He remains far ahead of his closest competitor, Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, who ranked second with earnings of $153.8 million—over $100 million less than Ronaldo.

In third place is British boxer Tyson Fury, who earned $147 million despite losing to Oleksandr Usyk in a heavyweight bout last December.

Meanwhile, Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi secured fourth place with $135 million, followed by Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who earned $133.2 million. Notably, LeBron is the only NBA player on the list who is still actively playing at the age of 40.

Overall, the list includes athletes from eight different sports and 27 countries.

Although no female athlete made it into the top 100 this year, the 20-year-old Coco Gauff is expected to break into the rankings in the future. In previous years, female athletes such as Naomi Osaka topped the list in 2022 with earnings of $57.3 million, while Serena Williams recorded an income of $41.8 million in 2021 before retiring.