Inside The Record $4.2 Billion Haul By 2025’s 50 Highest-Paid Athletes

Seven sports, 18 nationalities and a whole lot of cash—here’s everything you need to know about the monster earnings year from the sports world’s biggest stars.

Over the past 12 months, the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes collected a combined $4.23 billion before taxes and agent fees, setting an earnings record for the fifth straight year. The total represents a 9% increase over 2024’s $3.88 billion and is more than double what the top 50 were making just eight years ago.

But the records don’t stop there. This past year featured new individual marks in baseball, basketball, football and soccer, as well as 12 total athletes in nine figures—one better than Forbes had ever tracked.

Here are a few of the eye-popping numbers to know from this year’s earnings ranking.

4

The number of sports that registered earnings records.

Al-Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo (No. 1 overall at $275 million) set the new standard for soccer, one-upping his 2024 total of $260 million, and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (No. 2, $156 million) finally toppled the King—LeBron James, who had set basketball’s bar at $128.2 million in 2024 and raised it to $133.8 million in 2025. In football, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4 at $137 million) bested his own $107.5 million from 2021, and in baseball, New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) kept Shohei Ohtani (No. 9, $102.5 million) from pushing up his $85.3 million mark from last year.

11

The number of consecutive years LeBron James had been the NBA’s highest-paid player before Stephen Curry dethroned him this year.

A fellow Los Angeles Lakers great, Kobe Bryant, was the last NBA player to eclipse James, putting up $61.9 million on the 2013 list to edge his $59.8 million. Over that time, James has ranked no worse than No. 8 across all sports.

$275 million

Cristiano Ronaldo’s earnings total to lead the list.

It is the third-highest number Forbes has ever recorded for an active athlete, dating to 1990, and leaves him below only boxer Floyd Mayweather, who rang up $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018 thanks to mega-fights with Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor.

4

The number of athletes in the top 50 who have left their 30s behind.

The group includes 40-year-olds Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Lewis Hamilton—the Formula 1 driver who this year made the jump from Mercedes to Ferrari—along with golf legend Tiger Woods, who is 49.

5

The number of athletes in the top 50 who are 25 or younger.

That short list is made up of Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, 23; Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr., both 24; and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who are 25. In total, there are 21 athletes under 30 this year, and the ranking’s average age is 31—in line with last year’s list and down from 33 in 2023.

7

The number of sports represented among the top 50 athletes.

Basketball leads the way with 16 stars, followed by football with 13 and soccer with eight. Golf (five), baseball (three), boxing (three) and Formula 1 auto racing (two) round out the list.

$53.6 million

The threshold for inclusion among this year’s top 50.

Golfer Xander Schauffele and New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson both posted that earnings total to establish this year’s cutoff. The figure is a 19% increase over 2024’s record-tying $45.2 million and nearly doubles 2017’s $27.2 million.

World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2025

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$3.19 billion

The combined on-field earnings haul by the top 50, from their playing salaries, bonuses and prize money.

The record total marks a 67% increase in just three years. Off the field, the top 50 combined to make an estimated $1.04 billion, just shy of the all-time high of $1.08 billion from 2023.

2023

The last time a woman ranked among the top 50.

That year, Serena Williams collected $45.3 million as she retired from tennis. The reality is that, with the cutoff continuing to rise and tennis star Coco Gauff leading all female athletes with an estimated $34.4 million in calendar-year 2024, no women figure to crack the top 50 again anytime soon.

12

The number of athletes who earned $100 million or more over the past 12 months, a record.

Last year’s list had 11 and was the first time the number had gotten into double digits. As recently as 2017, there were no athletes earning nine figures.

2

The number of athletes who earned $100 million strictly from endorsements and other business endeavors.

With that accomplishment, Stephen Curry and Los Angeles Dodgers two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani join only three other athletes who have done so while still active in their sports, according to Forbes estimates: MMA fighter Conor McGregor ($158 million in 2021), Tiger Woods ($105 million in 2009) and tennis player Roger Federer ($100 million in 2020).

2

The number of billionaires among the top 50.

Both LeBron James and Tiger Woods joined the three-comma club in 2022. No other athletes have reached the milestone while still active in their sports, and only three other high-profile athletes have done so even after retiring: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Junior Bridgeman, who died in March at age 71.

18

The number of nationalities represented among the top 50 athletes.

Once again, the United States leads the way, with 29, including the Cameroonian-born Joel Embiid, who became an American citizen in 2022 and represented Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Only three other countries have multiple entrants: Britain (three), Brazil (two) and France (two).

18

The number of athletes among the top 50 who did not make last year’s list.

That figure includes 12 newcomers who have never ranked among the top 50 before (setting aside names like Dak Prescott and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, who appeared on the list in 2023 before dropping off in 2024). Of the 18 athletes who were missing last year, 10 are football players. The NFL’s contract system, with its emphasis on one-time signing bonuses, makes it common for players to see a massive earnings spike one year and then fall off the next. For instance, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who made $79 million on the field in the 12-month window for this year’s list, is poised to drop to $12.4 million in salary and bonus during next year’s tracking period.

METHODOLOGY

Information about the methodology Forbes uses to compile this list, which captures income the athletes collected between May 1, 2024, and May 1, 2025, can be found here.

With additional reporting by Justin Birnbaum.

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