Ronaldo recognizes as highest paid athlete

By Alimat Aliyeva

Cristiano Ronaldo, the striker for Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr and the Portuguese national football team, topped the list of highest-paid athletes in 2024, Azernews reports.

According to Sportico, Ronaldo earned $215 million under his contract with Al-Nassr last year, with an additional $45 million from endorsement deals, bringing his total earnings to a staggering $260 million.

American basketball player Stephen Curry, of the Golden State Warriors, ranked second with $153 million, while British boxer Tyson Fury came in third with $147 million.

The top ten also featured Argentine footballer Lionel Messi ($135 million), American basketball star LeBron James ($133.2 million), Brazilian footballer Neymar ($133 million), Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk ($122 million), and French footballers Karim Benzema ($116 million) and Kylian Mbappé ($110 million). Spanish golfer Jon Rahm rounded out the list with $105.8 million.

This ranking highlights the growing influence of athletes across various sports, with football, basketball, and boxing dominating the list. Interestingly, while traditional team sports like basketball and football continue to generate enormous earnings for players, individual sports like golf and boxing have also allowed athletes to accumulate significant wealth, largely due to lucrative sponsorship deals and pay-per-view events. Ronaldo's massive earnings, fueled by both his football contract and global endorsements, further underscore the global commercial appeal of elite athletes and the expanding opportunities outside of traditional team contracts.