Highest Paid Athletes in 2019

Once again, Forbes has published a list of the highest-paid athletes. And to little surprise, American sports and football dominate the list this year as well. Furthermore, male athletes are heavily represented, as the only female athlete can be found on a shared 63rd place.

You’ll find the entire list, and more detailed information about last year’s highest-paid athletes, below.

The world’s highest-paid athletes in 2019

1. Lionel Messi – Football – $127 million

The highest-paid athlete of 2019 also happens to be the world’s best football player. By the end of last year, Barcelona’s little magician won his sixth Ballon d’Or, thus surpassing his rival Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi is currently on a lucrative contract with Barcelona that he extended in 2017. The contract is valid until 2021. In the 2018/2019 season, Messi made a total of $127 million.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo – Football – $109 million

The world’s second-best footballer also holds second place on the Forbes’ list. Ronaldo left Real Madrid for the 2018/2019 season to join Juventus. CR7 also has managed to get 200 million followers on Instagram, and with all revenue streams put together, Cristiano Ronaldo earned $109 million last year.

3. Neymar Jr – Football – $105 million

In third place, we find PSG’s Brazilian football star Neymar Jr. Neymar’s transfer from Barcelona in 2017 entered the history books as the most expensive transfer in football history. The transfer cost €222 million. So far, Neymar has assisted in a few league victories, but PSG hasn’t had much success in Champions League. Last year, Neymar Jr. made $105 million.

4. Canelo Alvarez – Boxing – $94 million

Mexican boxing superstar, Canelo Alvarez, is the first non-footballer on the list. He lands in fourth place, much due to his WBO title fight against Sergei Kovalev that took place in Las Vegas back in November. Canelo received $35 million for the bout, excluding pay-per-view and other similar revenue streams. 

5. Roger Federer – Tennis – $93.4 million

The 38-year-old Swiss tennis star enters at place number five. Federer is one of the most accomplished players in recent times and has been at the top of the ATP rankings since 2002. He’s earned a fortune playing, but a large portion of his wealth comes from sponsorships. In 2018, Federer switched sponsors from Nike to Uniqlo and secured a ten-year-deal that’ll bring him $300 million. Last year, Federer earned $93.4 million.

6. Russell Wilson – American Football – $89,5 million

7. Aaron Rodgers – American Football – $89,3 million

8. LeBron James – Basketball – $89 million

9. Stephen Curry – Basketball – $79,8 million

10. Kevin Durant – Basketball – $65,4 million

Highest paid Athletes of 2019, distributed by sport

1. 34 Basketball


2. 20 American Football


3. 15 Baseball


4. 12 Football


5. 5 Boxing


6. 5 Golf


7. 5 Tennis


8. 2 Formula 1


9. 1 Cricket


10. 1 MMA

Full list of the highest-paid Athletes in 2019

• 11. Tiger Woods – Golf – $63.9 Mil.
• 12. Ben Roethlisberger – am. Football – $55.5 Mil.
• 13. Lewis Hamilton – Formula 1 – $55 Mil.
• 13. Anthony Joshua – Boxing – $55 Mil.
• 13. Khalil Mack – am. Football – $55 Mil.
• 16. Russell Westbrook – Basketball – $53.7 Mil.
• 17. Novak Djokovic – Tennis – $50.6 Mil.
• 17. Mike Trout – Baseball – $50.6 Mil.
• 19. Phil Mickelson – Golf – $48.4 Mil.
• 20. James Harden – Basketball – $47.7 Mil.
• 21. Conor McGregor – MMA – $47 Mil.
• 22. DeMarcus Lawrence – am. Football – $46.9 Mil.
• 23. Bryce Harper – Baseball – $44.5 Mil.
• 24. Chris Paul – Basketball – $43.8 Mil.
• 25. Kyrie Irving – Basketball – $43.3 Mil.
• 26. Giannis Antetokounmpo – Basketball – $42.4 Mil.
• 27. Drew Brees – am. Football – $42.4 Mil.
• 28. Aaron Donald – am. Football – $41.4 Mil.
• 29. Damian Lillard – Basketball – $41.1 Mil.
• 30. Sebastian Vettel – Formula 1 – $40.3 Mil.
• 31. Blake Griffin – Basketball – $39.1 Mil.
• 32. Rory McIlroy – Golf – $39 Mil.
• 33. Paul George – Basketball – $38.6 Mil.
• 34. Brandin Cooks – am. Football – $38 Mil.
• 35. Kei Nishikori – Tennis – $37.3 Mil.
• 36. Nick Foles – am. Football – $35.8 Mil.
• 37. Rafael Nadal – Tennis – $35 Mil.
• 38. Manny Machado – Baseball – $34.8 Mil.
• 39. Anthony Davis – Basketball – $34.6 Mil.
• 40. Gordon Hayward – Basketball – $34.3 Mil.
• 40. Klay Thompson – Basketball – $34.3 Mil.
• 42. Carmelo Anthony – Basketball – $34 Mil.
• 43. Kyle Lowry – Basketball – $33.8 Mil.
• 44. Paul Pogba – Football – $33 Mil.
• 45. DeMar DeRozan – Basketball – $32.8 Mil.
• 46. Andres Iniesta – Football – $32,5 Mil.
• 47. Justin Rose – Golf – $32.4 Mil.
• 48. Joel Embiid – Basketball – $32.1 Mil.
• 49. Al Horford – Basketball – $32 Mil.

50th to 100th place 

• 50. David Price – Baseball – $31.7 Mil.
• 51. Mike Conley, Jr – Basketball – $31.5 Mil.
• 52. Jordan Spieth – Golf – $31.1 Mil.
• 53. Alexis Sánchez – Football – $30.8 Mil.
• 54. Clayton Kershaw – Baseball – $30.7 Mil.
• 55. Kylian Mbappe – Football – $30,6 Mil.
• 56. Deontay Wilder – Boxing – $30.5 Mil.
• 57. Trey Flowers – am. Football – $30.2 Mil.
• 57. Mesut Özil – Football – $30.2 Mil.
• 59. Paul Millsap – Basketball – $30.1 Mil.
• 60. Matt Ryan – am. Football – $29.8 Mil.
• 61. Justin Verlander – Baseball – $29.5 Mil.
• 62. Yoenis Cespedes – Baseball – $29.4 Mil.
• 63. Miguel Cabrera – Baseball – $29.2 Mil.
• 63. Serena Williams – Tennis – $29.2 Mil.
• 65. Geno Atkins – am. Football – $29.1 Mil.
• 66. Oscar – Football – $29 Mil.
• 66. Earl Thomas – am. Football – $29 Mil.
• 68. Jake Arrieta – Baseball – $28.8 Mil.
• 68. CJ McCollum – Basketball – $28.8 Mil.
• 70. Kawhi Leonard – Basketball – $28.7 Mil.
• 71. Kevin Love – Basketball – $28.4 Mil.
• 72. Justin Houston – am. Football – $28.2 Mil.
• 73. Albert Pujols – Baseball – $28 Mil.
• 74. Dwight Howard – Basketball – $27.8 Mil.
• 75. Antoine Griezmann – Football – $27.7 Mil.
• 76. Jrue Holiday – Basketball – $27.6 Mil.
• 77. Giancarlo Stanton – Baseball – $27.4 Mil.
• 78. Steven Adams – Basketball – $27.2 Mil.
• 79. Gareth Bale – Football – $27.1 Mil.
• 79. Bradley Beal – Basketball – $27.1 Mil.
• 81. Tom Brady – am. Football – $27 Mil.
• 82. Andrew Luck – am. Football – $26.9 Mil.
• 82. CJ Mosley – am. Football – $26.9 Mil.
• 84. Felix Hernandez – Baseball – $26.6 Mil.
• 85. Odell Beckham Jr – am. Football – $26.5 Mil.
• 85. Otto Porter Jr – Basketball – $26.5 Mil.
• 87. Andre Drummond – Basketball – $26.5 Mil.
• 88. Harrison Barnes – Basketball – $26.4 Mil.
• 89. Nikola Jokic – Basketball – $26.2 Mil.
• 89. Hassan Whiteside – Basketball – $26.2 Mil.
• 91. Andrew Wiggins – Basketball – $26.1 Mil.
• 92. Manny Pacquiao – Boxing – $26 Mil.
• 93. Saquon Barkley – am. Football – $25.8 Mil.
• 94. JD Martinez – Baseball – $25.6 Mil.
• 95. Gennady Golovkin – Boxing – $25.5 Mil.
• 96. Joey Votto – Baseball – $25.4 Mil.
• 97. Jon Lester – Baseball – $25.3 Mil.
• 98. Marc Gasol – Basketball – $25.1 Mil.
• 98. Mohamed Salah – Football – $25.1 Mil.
• 100. Virat Kohli – Cricket – $25 Mil.