SportsMoney
BILLION-DOLLAR CLUB
THE WORLD’S TEN HIGHEST-PAID ATHLETES. Empty stadiums. Curtailed seasons. Playoff bubbles. And a year of record paydays as four athletes each earned more than $100 million, helping boost the combined earnings of the top ten to $1.05 billion.
1. Conor McGregor
7. Roger Federer
9. Tom Brady
ON THE FIELD: $22 million OFF THE FIELD: $158 million The brawler was knocked out in his UFC return but won big selling his beverage brand.
ON THE FIELD: $35,000 OFF THE FIELD: $90 million Deals with brands including Uniqlo, Rolex and Credit Suisse help the Swiss tennis titan cash in even while injured.
ON THE FIELD: $45 million OFF THE FIELD: $31 million The ageless 43-year-old is making more than ever, inking deals with apparel seller Fanatics and Danish eyewear maker Christopher Cloos.
2. Lionel Messi
8. Lewis Hamilton
10. Kevin Durant
ON THE FIELD: $97 million OFF THE FIELD: $33 million A leak of his contract showed the Barcelona soccer icon was earning much more than previously thought.
ON THE FIELD: $70 million OFF THE FIELD: $12 million The Mercedes driver piled up bonus payments en route to a seventh Formula 1 title.
ON THE FIELD: $31 million OFF THE FIELD: $44 million Durant scored with Postmates’ sale to Uber (he was an investor) and produced a short fi lm that won an Oscar.
$180 million
$130 million
$90 million
$82 million
$76 million
$75 million
3. Cristiano Ronaldo $120 million
ON THE FIELD: $70 million OFF THE FIELD: $50 million The Juventus soccer star has more than 500 million social media followers to pitch his CR7 clothing brand to.
4. Dak Prescott $107.5 million
ON THE FIELD: $97.5 million OFF THE FIELD: $10 million A $66 million signing bonus pushes the Dallas Cowboys quarterback to an NFL earnings record.
5. LeBron James $96.5 million
ON THE FIELD: $31.5 million OFF THE FIELD: $65 million A new deal with PepsiCo helps lift the Lakers’ King above the rim to a record high for an NBA player.
6. Neymar $95 million
ON THE FIELD: $76 million OFF THE FIELD: $19 million The Brazilian added Puma, Epic Games, PokerStars and Triller to his sponsor list. F O R B E S M I D D L E E A S T.C O M
JULY 2021
BY BRETT KNIGHT AND JUSTIN BIRNBAUM
FRONTRUNNER
26
