It’s a no brainer that footballers around the globe earn huge sums of money. Other highly paid sports include American football, boxing, tennis, basketball, MMA, auto racing, and golf.
According to Forbes, star footballer, Lionel Messi is the highest-paid athlete in the world with a pay of $127 million and winnings worth $92 million, followed by another football legend, Christiano Ronaldo who earns $109 million in pay. Third on the list is Brazilian footballer, Neymar Jr., who has an earning of $105 million along with winnings of $75 million.
The only cricketer on the list is the captain of the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli, who is ranked at 100th with a salary of $24 million. The superstar was placed at 83rd in terms of earnings in 2018.
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Other names in the top 10 include Mexican boxer, Canelo Alvarez, tennis great, Roger Federer and NFL stars, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers. At number 8, 9 and 10 are basketball players LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durrant.
No Pakistani made it to the top 100 of the list.
Here are the top 10:
| Rank | Athlete | Pay | Winnings | Endorsements | Sport | |
 |
#1 | Lionel Messi | $127 M | $92 M | $35 M | Football |
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#2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | $109 M | $65 M | $44 M | Football |
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#3 | Neymar | $105 M | $75 M | $30 M | Football |
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#4 | Canelo Alvarez | $94 M | $92 M | $2 M | Boxing |
 |
#5 | Roger Federer | $93.4 M | $7.4 M | $86 M | Tennis |
 |
#6 | Russell Wilson | $89.5 M | $80.5 M | $9 M | American Football |
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#7 | Aaron Rodgers | $89.3 M | $80.3 M | $9 M | American Football |
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#8 | LeBron James | $89 M | $36 M | $53 M | Basketball |
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#9 | Stephen Curry | $79.8 M | $37.8 M | $42 M | Basketball |
 |
#10 | Kevin Durant | $65.4 M | $30.4 M | $35 M | Basketball |
Via Forbes
Featured Image via the Cricket Monthly
