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Cristiano Ronaldo was the highest-paid athlete in the world last year, earning US$260 million ($413.9 million) from his salary, winnings and endorsements.
The 40-year-old football star was on top of the list of the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world for a second year in a row, with runner-up Stephen Curry earning US$153.8 million ($244.8 million) in 2024.
Boxer Tyson Fury US$147 million ($234 million), Inter Miami football great Lionel Messi US$135 million (214.9 million) and Los Angeles Lakers basketball superstar LeBron James US$133.2 million ($212 million) rounded out the top five.
Zero women cracked the list of the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes released on Wednesday by Sportico.
The list by sports content platform Sportico estimates the top 100 paid athletes earned a combined US$6.2 billion ($9.8 billion), which was up 14 per cent from the previous year.
Of the eight sports featured in the ranking, football, basketball, and boxing had the highest-paid athletes from 27 countries.
The list is also exclusively men.
No women made the top 100
Zero women cracked the list of the highest-paid athletes.
United States tennis star Coco Gauff was the top-earning female athlete, taking home US$30.4 million ($49 million).
Gauff was seeded second in women’s tennis in June last year and has won nine WTA tour-level singles titles, including the 2023 US Open.
But the 20-year-old’s earnings were more than US$7 million ($11 million) short of surpassing the 100th player on the list.
That honour went to the NFL footballer Daniel Jones, who earned US$37.5 million ($59.7 million) with the Minnesota Vikings.
One Australian in the rankings
Americans were dominant in the rankings, with basketball and American football pulling up the average, but one Australian made it into the top 100.
Ben Simmons came in at number 85 on the list, with estimated earnings of around US$41 million ($65 million).
The 28-year-old Melbourne-born basketballer plays for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Simmons was awarded NBA Rookie of the Year in 2018.
With additional reporting by the Reuters news agency.
