Cristiano Ronaldo's fortune exceeds $1.2 billion // Photo: goodfon.com
Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is the leader in the ranking of the highest-paid athletes published by Forbes for the third year in a row. His annual earnings from his club Al-Nassr (Saudi Arabia) and advertising contracts this year amounted to $275 million, which is $15 million more than a year earlier. Ronaldo has topped the rankings five times in his career – in 2016 ($88 million), 2017 ($93 million) and 2023-2025.
The indicator demonstrated by the Portuguese athlete became the third in the history of the publication of data on the income of athletes. American boxer Floyd Mayweather earned $285 million in 2018, and three years earlier – $300 million.
The second line of the rating in 2025 is Golden State Warriors (USA) basketball star Stephen Curry, who earns $156 million a year – $119 million less than the leader of the rating. British boxer Tyson Fury, whose annual earnings amount to $146 million, rounded out the top three (see the table for the full list). In January, the 36-year-old athlete announced the end of his career, but continues to receive income from pay-per-view broadcasts of his fights, earns on renting houses, selling his own clothing line and protein bars produced under his personal brand.
In 2016, the combined earnings of the world’s 10 highest-paid athletes totaled $635.2 million and has steadily increased, only showing a decline in 2017, 2019 and 2022 (see chart).
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TOP-10 highest-paid athletes in theworld in 2025 (according to Forbes) |
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| № | Athlete |
Annual earnings |
Type of sport |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo
(Portugal) |
$275 million |
Soccer |
| 2 | Stephen Curry (USA) |
$156 mln |
Basketball |
| 3 | Tyson Fury (Great Britain) |
$146 mln |
Boxing |
| 4 | Dak Prescott (USA) |
$137 mln |
American soccer |
| 5 | Lionel Messi (Argentina) |
$135 mln |
Soccer |
| 6 | LeBron James (USA) |
$133.8 mln |
Basketball |
| 7 | Juan Soto (Dominican Republic) |
$114 mln |
Baseball |
| 8 | Karim Benzema (Soccer) |
$104 mln |
Soccer |
| 9 | Shohei Otani (Japan) |
$102.5 mln |
Baseball |
| 10 | Kevin Duran (USA) |
$101.4 mln |
Basketball |
According to Forbes
