The Highest Paid Athletes Of All Time: Who Leads The Ranking And In What Position Is Lionel Messi

Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi, Tiger Woods, Floyd Mayweather and Cristiano Ronaldo, some of the most prominent in the ranking

The sport moves billions of dollars and year after year the contracts are exceeded. New sponsorship and salary records are set each season and this is why athletes are earning more and more money. This makes it complex to understand who the richest people of all time have been, since the figures have varied over time and the numbers that are handled today are far from those that moved two or three decades ago. .

In this context, the site Sportico conducted an in-depth study in which he incorporated historical data including salaries, awards, bonuses, sponsorships, licenses, royalties, book deals, appearances and all kinds of income that have been disseminated by companies, teams, clubs or through the media, like the magazine Forbes. These numbers were adjusted for inflation according to the era to which they corresponded and obtained a fairly adequate estimate of how much the best athletes in history won.

In this way, he prepared a ranking of 25 figures that was published this Thursday in which stars such as the former basketball player stand out. Michael Jordan, the former Formula 1 racer Michael Schumacher, the football players Lionel messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the golfer Tiger Woods and the boxer Floyd mayweather, among others.

After extensive research, the portal highlighted that all have made more money from sponsorship contracts than from their salaries. In addition, he revealed that the vast majority of the members of the list are Americans and that the woman with the highest figure is the tennis player Serena Williams, who is not even close to the Top25.

1. Michael Jordan (basketball): $ 2.62 billion

The American who shone in the Chicago Bulls of the NBA during the 90s closed a contract with Nike that made him earn more than a billion dollars since his permanent retirement in 2003 (Reuters)

2. Tiger Woods (golf): $ 2.1 billion

The former number one and winner of 15 ‘Majors’, forever changed the sport of sticks and his on-field performances alone generated close to USD 62 million

3. Arnold Palmer (golf): $ 1.5 billion

The American who died in 2016 pocketed USD 3.6 million during his career, but the big business he did by signing a historic agreement with Rolex that lasted until the day of his death (Getty Images)

4. Jack Nicklaus (golf): $ 1.38 billion

The 81-year-old American was one of the pioneers in becoming an entrepreneur and his company is one of the largest golf course design on the planet (Reuters)

5. Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer): USD 1.24 billion

The Portuguese Manchester United player is the person with the most followers on social networks on the planet and his links with Nike, Herbalife and Clear, among other companies, have allowed him to climb to fifth place on this list (EFE)

6. Floyd Mayweather (boxing): $ 1.2 billion

The American is the only fighter who won more than USD 200 million for a fight and he did it twice, against Manny Pacquiao and against Conor McGregor. The creation of his own company, TMT, has also catapulted him onto the list (USA TODAY Sports)

7. LeBron James (basketball): $ 1.17 billion

With a salary of USD 400 million with the Los Angeles Lakers, The King has broken any kind of record in this regard (EFE)

8. Lionel Messi (soccer): $ 1.14 billion

The Argentine is not only one of the best players of all time, but he also has hotel ventures and quirky contracts with companies like Adidas, which allow him to continue growing beyond sports (Reuters)

9. Michael Schumacher (motorsport): $ 1.13 billion

The five-time Formula 1 champion continues to generate billions of dollars a year from his contracts with various sponsors, despite his delicate health situation (Action Images)

10. Roger Federer (tennis): $ 1.12 billion

The Swiss, considered the best tennis player of all time, is very skilled with the racket and with business since seven of his 14 sponsors are also his partners, for whom his earnings multiply (Reuters)

The rest of the ranking:

11. Phil Mickelson (golf, United States): $ 1.08 billion

12. David Beckham (soccer, England): $ 1.05 billion

13. Kobe Bryant (basketball, United States): USD 930 million

14. Shaquille O’Neal (basketball, United States): USD 870 million

15. Greg Norman (golf, Australia): USD 815 million

16. Mike Tyson (boxing, United States): $ 775 million

17. Alex Rodriguez (baseball, United States): $ 650 million

18. Manny Pacquiao (boxing, Filipino): $ 630 million

19. Kevin Durant (basketball, United States): USD 625 million

20. Lewis Hamilton (motorsport, England): USD 620 million

21. Neymar (soccer, Brazil): USD 615 million