Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the world’s highest-paid athlete for the fourth consecutive year, topping Forbes’ 2025 list of the 50 highest-earning sportspeople globally with an estimated $300 million in total earnings over the past 12 months.
The Al Nassr forward’s combined on-field and off-field income dwarfs that of his closest rivals. Boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez ranked second with an estimated $170 million, while Ronaldo’s longtime rival Lionel Messi placed third at $140 million. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers came in fourth with $137.8 million, and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers rounded out the top five at $127.6 million.
Other notable entries on the list include Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes at No. 15 with $84.7 million, rising boxing star Jake Paul at No. 23 with $70 million, and tennis world number one Jannik Sinner at No. 50 with $54.6 million.
The full list reflects a broader boom in athlete earnings across sport. Forbes reports that the top 50 athletes combined hauled in an estimated $4.1 billion over the past year before taxes and agent fees — $3 billion generated on the field through salaries, bonuses and prize money, and $1.1 billion off the field from endorsements, appearances, memorabilia and business ventures. That figure marks a slight dip from the previous year’s combined total, ending what had been a sustained upward trend since 2018, when the same group earned a combined $2.6 billion.
For Ronaldo, the ranking cements his status not just as one of the greatest footballers in history, but as the most commercially dominant athlete on the planet — a distinction he has now held every year since 2022.
— NutmegXtra | Football News. Transfers. More.
