Forbes recently released its list of the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes for 2024, topped by soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. The lineup factors in both on- and off-field earnings, which includes sponsorship deals, appearance fees, memorabilia and licensing income, among other revenue streams.
The combined earnings for 2024 totaled $3.88 billion, up 13 percent from 2023 and had a cutoff of $45.2 million. No UFC fighters, including former Top 50 earner Conor McGregor, were included in this year’s list, though veteran boxers Anthony Joshua (No. 16) and Tyson Fury (No. 42) both made the cut.
McGregor has not competed since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in summer 2021.
Here’s the Top 10 for 2024:
Name | Sport | Total Earnings
Cristiano Ronaldo | Soccer | $260m
Jon Rahm | Golf | $218m
Lionel Messi | Soccer | $135m
LeBron James | Basketball | $128.2
Giannis Antetokounmpo | Basketball | $111m
Kylian Mbappé | Soccer | $110m
Neymar | Soccer | $108m
Karim Benzema Soccer | $106m
Stephen Curry | Basketball | $102m
Lamar Jackson | Football | $100.5m
McGregor, 35, will likely find his way back to the Top 50 for 2025, assuming he returns (as scheduled) for the upcoming UFC 303 pay-per-view (PPV) event on June 29 in Las Vegas. “Notorious” will be facing fellow Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 31 coach Michael Chandler in the five-round, welterweight main event.
MMA is still a fringe sport.
Half of those people play once a week or multiple times a week for months. The biggest names in mma fight at 2-3 times a year. Those fighters are only a blimp on the radar of popularity. There are only a few exceptions. Those few fighters don’t generate the money that those top earners do.
last few years this has been the case
Sadly its because watching MMA (the UFC) is rather difficult.
Where other top earners who are in similar sports (boxing) are more accessible
If Jon Rahm sat next to me at a bar and hit me with a golf club over the head and introduced himself as Jon Rahm…
Yes, but that is the ideal combination of wealth and privacy.
I’m not talking shit. It’s just amazing to me that people like that can exist. You could put Neymar next to a redneck in Alabama and he would think the Mexican is here to roof the house.
Being 6’8, 260, and a black racist douchebag, you couldn’t really fly under the radar.