No woman in list of top 100-paid athletes topped by Cristiano Ronaldo
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Cristiano Ronaldo was the highest-paid athlete in 2024 with a total income of US$260 million.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LOS ANGELES – Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo again topped the list of the world’s highest-paid athletes with total income of US$260 million (S$349 million) in 2024, according to sports industry news website Sportico, but there was no woman in the top 100.
The leading 100, dominated by players from football, the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), golf and boxing, earned an estimated US$6.2 billion in total income in 2024. The figure includes US$4.8 billion in salary and prize money, plus US$1.4 billion in endorsements.
Former US Open tennis champion Coco Gauff was the top-earning female athlete in 2024 at US$30.4 million, well short of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daniel Jones, who squeezed in at No. 100 with a total income of US$37.5 million.
Ronaldo’s lucrative contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr ensured he retained top spot for a second straight year after he moved to the Saudi Pro League in December 2022.
Sportico said the Portugal forward, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Feb 5, earned a hefty US$215 million in wages, while he also made US$45 million in endorsements.
Ronaldo is so far ahead of the other athletes that Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who is second on the list, earned US$153.8 million, more than US$100 million short of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
British boxer Tyson Fury, who lost to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in a heavyweight clash in December, is third on the list at US$147 million.
The top five are rounded out by Inter Miami’s Argentina football captain Lionel Messi (US$135 million) and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (US$133.2 million) – the only 40-year-old in the current NBA season.
The top 100 is made up of athletes from eight sports and hailing from 27 countries.
While American Gauff, who is only 20, could climb up the table in the years to come, there have been other women who would have cracked the list in the past.
Business magazine Forbes said Japan’s four-time Grand Slam tennis champion Naomi Osaka was the world’s highest-paid female athlete in 2022 after she pulled in US$57.3 million in prize money and endorsements.
Retired tennis great Serena Williams, who won 23 singles Majors, earned US$41.8 million in 2021, according to Forbes. The American retired from the sport in 2022 after the US Open. REUTERS
Highest-paid athlete in each sport in 2024
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (football) - US$260 million
2. Stephen Curry (basketball) - US$153.8 million
3. Tyson Fury (boxing) - US$147 million
10. Jon Rahm (golf) - US$105.8 million
12. Dak Prescott (American football) - US$100.4 million
18. Max Verstappen (Formula One) - US$76 million
21. Shohei Ohtani (baseball) - US$72.5 million
43. Jannik Sinner (tennis) - US$52.3 million
