The life of the athletes is extremely demanding because of their high levels of dedication, sacrifice and pressure involved but at the same time, they are rewarded hugely. The earning are such huge by which they could fund a small economy.
In an effort to find out who stands top in the earnings, we just gathered the latest information. so without making much ado, these are the top highest paid athletes for this year.
The Highest Paid Athletes in the World:
Lionel Messi:
Lionel Andres Messi Cuccittini is an Argentine football player who plays as a forward and captains both Argentina national team and Spanish club Barcelona.
Messi is known as the best passer/goalscorer in the world. He won an absolute multitude of personal & team awards, inspite of a conviction for tax fraud in the year of 2016 still, he continues to break many records.
Now he is a most remarkable athlete in the world, penning outstanding sponsorship deals with the huawei, Turkish airlines, and Adidas,. His salary is $71 million and totally he earns $98 million per year.
Cristiano Ronaldo:
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM is a Portuguese footballer, who plays as a forward for Portugal national team and Italian club Juventus. He is a most talented player of all time and also praised highly for his constant work ethic.
Ronaldo salary is $ 58 million and earns a total of $93 million per year. For his endorsement, he gets $35 million and deals with the like of Nike, Tag Heuer, and Herbalife.
LeBron James:
LeBron Raymone James Sr is an American basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA(national basketball association). He led the Miami Heat to NBA championship victories in both 2012 & 13.
James salary is $33.3 million per year and earns a total of $85.3 million per year. His endorsement deals include Coca-cola, Nike and Intel. He also recently announced his desire to own his own NBA franchise in the future.
Stephen Curry:
Wardell Stephen Curry II is an American professional basketball player and one of the greatest shooter in the basketball history.
The two-time MVP signed the NBA’s first $200 million contract and five-year deal for $201 million from the warriors has enjoyed a highly successful playing career.
Curry salary is $34.7 million and his total earnings are $76.7 million. His endorsement partners include chase and, under armor, a pioneering multimedia deal with Sony Pictures and more recently.
Neymar Jr:
Neymar da Silva Santos junior, simply know as Neymar Jr, is a Brazilian professional footballer. He is known for his frequently changing hairstyles.
This Brazilian superstar made a huge wave in 2017 when he left Spanish Barcelona for Paris Saint Germain in a world record €222 million deal.
His total earnings are $66.9 million per year and his endorsement deals with the likes of Nike, Volkswagen, and Panasonic.
Roger Federer:
He is a Swiss professional tennis player and holds rank 2 in men’s singles tennis by the association of tennis professionals in the world. Federer holds many ATP records and is considered to be an all-time greatest tennis player.
He earns $64 million per year and his main source of income is from his sponsorship deals – credit Suisse, Nike, Mercedes-Benz, and Rolex.
Kevin Durant:
Kevin is an American professional basketball player for the golden warrior of the national basketball association. His achievement has made him a hugely popular figure off the court.
A status is reflected in his endorsements and deals with Nike, and 2K Sports. The total earnings of him are more than $60.6 millions.
Sebastian Vettel:
Sebastian Vettel is a Germany racing driver who started his career with red bull and Presently a racing driver for formula one for Scuderia Ferrari.
He ranks fifth among formula one drivers by the number of fastest laps (34) and won the four-time formula one world championship. Currently earnings of his are around $60.5 millions per year.
Lewis Hamilton:
Lewis is a British racing driver who races in formula one for Mercedes AMG Petronas and he is four-time world champion.
The current total earning of him is around $58 million per year, in which $50 million is his salary and $8 million is for his endorsement
James Harden:
James Edward Harden Jr., an American basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the national basketball association. He started his career in 2009 and has the world’s seventh largest sports contract with $228,000,000.
His current salary is around $28.3 million per year and for his endorsement, he gets $20 million. The total earnings are $48.3 million.
Phil Mickelson
Philip Alfred Mickelson is also called with a nickname Lefty. He is an American professional golfer who won 43 events on the PGA tour. The current total earnings of this golf player are around $44 million per year.
At at the age of 47 years, the golfing legend is the oldest entrant on this list but neither his skill on the golf course nor his huge revenue streams display any sign of decreasing soon.
Kimi Raikkonen:
Kimi Raikkonen is a Finnish racing driver currently driving in formula one for Scuderia ferry. His nickname is “Iceman”. Kimi is a man of very few words but always lets his driving do the talking.
The Current salary is $40 million and for his endorsement, he gets around $2 million per year. The total earnings are $42 million per year approximately.
Russell Westbrook:
Russell Westbrook III is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association.
He received the NBA’s prestigious most valuable player (MVP) trophy and it resulted in the award of a new five year, $205 million contracts. His current salary is $28.5 million and earns a total of $40.5 million per year. millions per year.
Mike Trout:
Mike Trout is one of the greatest baseball center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels of major league baseball. The baseball superstar is known as one of the best players in his sport and a seven-time all-star and a two time MLB most valuable player. His salary is $36 million and earns a total of $38.5 million per year.
Blake Griffin:
Blake is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the national basketball association.
He signed this contract in Jan 2018, it made him one the highest paid player in the NBA in the process.
His salary is around $29.5 million and earns a total of $37.5 million per year and for his endorsement, he gets $8 million per year.
Clayton Kershaw:
Clayton Edward Kershaw is an American professional baseball pitcher for Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008, starting pitcher Kershaw saw his loyalty and rewarded him with one of the largest contracts in major league baseball. His salary is $35.6 million and earns a total of $36.4 million per year.
He also holds various minor sponsorship deals with Topps, likes of under armor and Mercedes Benz and earns $800,000 per year.
Rory Mcllroy:
He is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland and a member of European and PGA tours. In the official world golf ranking, he stood world number one for 95 weeks.
Rory endorsement deal with Nike and TaylorMade, which makes him one of the highest paid player in golf. His total earnings are $36 million per year.
Zack Greinke:
Donald Zackary Greinke is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of major league baseball.
He signed this contract for 6 years worth over $200 million which made him highest paid player in the franchise’s history. His salary is $34 million and earns a total of $34.5 million per year.
Conor McGregor:
Conor Anthony McGregor is an Irish professional, known for his fiery personality and instantly recognizable appearance.
He is a mixed martial art and boxer who earn a $27 million per year and his total earnings are $34 million. For his endorsement, he gets around $7 million.
Fernando Alonso:
Fernando Alonso Diaz is a formula one racing driver and currently racing for McLaren F1 team and he is a two-time formula one world champion.
His salary is around $30 million and earns a total of $32 million per year. For his endorsements, he gets around $2millions per year.
