Forbes published their anual list of highest-paid athletes in 2022, where there are four NBA players, three soccer players, one tennis player, one boxer, and one football player. All of them add up to a total of $991.6 million.
Over the course of this year, the world’s top athletes have been under the radar for their performances on the field, but overall the salaries they receive for their sports have been consistent. In this case, the renowned magazine Forbes revealed its list of 50 athletes, which ranks each athlete according to their current earnings, led by Lionel Messi and LeBron James.
Among the list are 35 American athletes from basketball who go through golf, boxing and football. In fact, four out of the five highest paid athletes in the US play in the NBA. There are also only three NFL players among this top tier of the United States.
According to this list of 50 athletes, only two women are among the highest paid this year. The only two are tennis players, one of them is the retired Serena Williams and the other is the Japanese athlete Naomi Osaka, who surprisingly did not win a Grand Slam this year.
The world’s top 10 highest-paid athletes in 2022
Forbes published an article revealing who were the top 10 highest-paid athletes over the last 12 months. The first place is holded by Lionel Messi, followed by LeBron James, and in third place is Cristiano Ronaldo. Neymar is fourth, Stephen Curry fifth, Kevin Durant sixth, Roger Federer seventh, Canelo Alvarez sixth, Tom Brady ninth, and Giannis Antetokounmpo tenth.
As a whole, the world’s ten highest-paid athletes pocketed $991.6 million over the last 12 months. Off the field, the top ten athletes hauled in an estimated $500 million from endorsements, appearances, memorabilia, and licensing fees, as well as the cash returns from businesses they operate and equity stakes they sold.
This list doesn’t take into account several endorsments deals that could have been sealed in the late part of this year, as well as recent renewal contracts between athletes and their teams in each case necessary. However, there could multiple last-minute changes that were not taken as well