Forbes World's Highest Paid Athletes. the largest contracts in world sports
Basketball player LeBron James, with annual earnings of $86.2 million, failed to surpass Portuguese star Ronaldo, who earned $93 million over the past 12 months.
For CR7, the last year has been one of the most successful in his career. He was recognized as the best football player on the planet according to FIFA, scored the 400th goal in his career for his current club, and also signed a new contract with Real Madrid, according to which the Galacticos will pay the Portuguese more than $ 50 million every year. Ronaldo also signed a lifetime contract with Nike worth about $1 billion.
Cristiano Ronaldo earned $58 million from Real Madrid and received another $35 million from sponsors. In addition to the agreement with Nike, the forward collaborates with such well-known brands as Herbalife, Samsung, Tag Heuer, Abbott Labs and others. CR7 also has its own line of shoes, clothing, underwear, and it also invests in the construction of hotels.
Sponsors get good returns by collaborating with Ronaldo. The Portuguese himself is popular not only on football fields, but also in the virtual world. More than 250 million people from all over the world are subscribed to his pages on social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram). By the way, Ronaldo earns 400 thousand euros for each post on the Instagram social network.
The highest paid athletes of 2017: Top 10
In addition to Ronaldo, the top five athletes with the highest earnings included LeBron James, Roger Federer and Kevin Durant. Compared to the previous year, the top five remained virtually unchanged, only James and Messi swapped places.
Over the past 12 months, the 10 highest-paid sports stars earned $619 million. The athletes' earnings were calculated from June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017. The profit indicator included wages, bonuses, and income from business sponsors.
Forbes has released its annual list of the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world. Most of the places in the top ten were “captured” by basketball players, however, they lost the first position to the star of Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo. And the only woman in the ranking was Serena Williams (51st place).
This is what it looks like top 10 richest athletes of 2017.
10. Lewis Hamilton (auto racing)
Income: $46 million
Few drivers entered Formula 1 as brilliantly as Lewis Hamilton. His sensational run in 2007, in which Hamilton lost just one point to champion Kimi Raikkonen, remains one of the most remarkable rookie campaigns in history. In the following years, the British rider won three world championships and established himself as one of the most aggressive and tough riders in the world. Simply put, when it comes to driving a Formula One car, there are very few areas in which Hamilton is not an absolute champion. He has a €140 million contract with the Mercedes factory team until the end of 2018.
Income: $46.6 million
The NBA superstar, who plays for the Houston Rockets, is famous not only for his victories, but also for his luxurious beard, which has become a popular print for T-shirts and has inspired songs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMbibT7nhEg&feature= player_embedded#!) and even has a separate Twitter account. She makes the 27-year-old athlete look older than he actually is. Harden has an advertising contract with Adidas totaling $200 million.
Income: $47.3 million
In May 2016, Curry became the first person to be named the most valuable player in NBA history by unanimous vote, and one of 11 players to win the MVP (Most Valuable Player) award two years in a row. Curry has contracts with several companies, including sportswear and accessories maker Under Armor and Unilever (in this case, the masculine basketball player endorses Degree men's deodorant).
7. Rory McIlroy (golf)
Earned - $50 million
Along with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, McIlroy is one of only three players to have won three majors by age 25. The Northern Irish golfer is the current face of EA Sports' PGA Tour series.
6. Andrew Luck (American football)
Received for 2016-2017. — 50 million dollars
Quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. In 2016, Luck extended his contract with his club for six years. For this he will receive $140 million, which makes the athlete the highest paid player in the league.
Annual earnings - 60.6 million dollars
The NBA super forward has multi-million dollar endorsement deals with Under Armour, Foot Locker and Nike. He's in Rio. At the same time, the dark-skinned giant is known not only as one of the best basketball players of all time, but also as a philanthropist, artist and writer. And in 2012, he tried his hand at cinema, appearing in the film “Struck by Thunder.” True, the film received lukewarm reviews from both viewers and critics, but this is not Durant’s fault.
4. Roger Federer (tennis)
Financial receipts - $64 million
The only tennis player on the 2017 list of the richest sports celebrities is known for his good deeds. He founded the Federer Foundation, which helps children in the world's poorest regions. Federer also has the nickname “sandwich man” in his native Switzerland for his large number of sponsorship contracts. His advertising portfolio includes such giants as Mercedes-Benz, Credit Suisse, Rolex, Gillette and Nike.
Revenues: $80 million
The top three athletes with the highest earnings of 2017 are opened by the captain of Barcelona and the eternal rival of Cristiano Ronaldo for the title of the best football player in the world. Messi played in three World Cups (2006, 2010 and 2014) and three America's Cups (2007, 2011 and 2015). In the summer of 2008, he also played at the Beijing Olympics, and returned home with a gold medal. Messi earns his millions not only on the football field; he has advertising contracts with Adidas, Turkish Airlines, Lays and other brands.
2. LeBron James (basketball)
Earned - 86.2 dollars
The best player in the NBA has also become the highest paid basketball player in the world, and has every chance of ousting the current king of the sports rankings of the rich next year. Not bad for a kid who entered the 2003 NBA Draft straight out of high school. James has a lifetime contract with Nike, as well as agreements with Coca-Cola and Kia.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer)
Received over the last year - 93 million dollars
That superstar Cristiano Ronaldo topped Forbrs' list of the world's highest-paid sports stars was expected given he had arguably the most successful 12 months in football history. In addition to his recent UEFA Champions League victory, Ronaldo also won the title of best player in his domestic La Liga, and won the European Championship with the Portuguese national team. And in December 2016, the football player was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player in the world. He extended his contract with Real Madrid, which will pay Cristiano over $50 million a year for the next four years.
A passion for sports is close to almost every teenager. Everyone can love sports, but only a few can boast of making it their life’s work and earning millions of dollars. Big sport means big money.
Professional athletes did not think that a childhood hobby would develop into a profitable lifelong business. In the modern world, income comes not so much from victories and awards, but from salaries of organizations and advertising activities. For example, football players earn tens of times more from PR for a cool brand than from the championship. And there are also large fees for artificially “leaking” the game and in fixed matches. Bookmakers, bets, filming videos - all this together brings the player millions of dollars in accounts.
Big names of athletes are associated with fame and wads of dollars. Is this really so, and who is considered the richest athlete in history and the modern world - you can find out from the ratings.
At the end of the article we have prepared a surprise 🎁 - an exciting test to test your attentiveness 😃
Forbes ranking of the highest paid athletes
The ranking of the richest people is published annually in the American magazine Forbes. This includes politicians, businessmen, actors, and other influential persons. There are also TOP successful and rich athletes. At the end of 2018, the following sports figures were immortalized on the pages of the magazine:
Floyd Mayweather
The MMA fighter managed to receive a one-time fee of $275 million. It seems that this is impossible, but in the world of big sports this is a very real figure. The fight with Conor McGregor was a turning point that elevated Mayweather not only to the top of the Forbes list, but also to the top three richest athletes in history. The historic fight was organized relatively quickly - within a month. The interest of the audience was fueled not only by the status of the fighters, but also by the skirmish that arose between them on social networks.
Ten rounds of Floyd's lead ended in a technical knockdown. No one expected such a spectacle, and the preliminary fees of both athletes increased significantly. In addition, Mayweather acted as “side A”, which means he dictated the terms of the fight. In addition to the fee, Floyd received huge amounts of money from advertising and other events related to the large-scale fight.
The highest paid football player in the world based on the results of 2018 is always placed next to Beckham and Ronaldo. If we talk about the components of annual income, then only Messi’s salary from the club is the main one. Thus, having signed a contract with Barcelona, Messi’s annual income became an average of 100 million. The football player is not particularly concerned about the advertising activities. Of course, he collaborates with Adidas, Samsung, Chery, PepsiCo and other brands, which brings him another 10 - 11 million a year. But this is not paramount for Messi.
Moreover, it seems that the athlete was not looking for a club that would pay him well. He wanted to play with a team that could win. Just a game and just talent that brought an unknown footballer to the top of the Forbes list.
At the end of the year, Ronaldo lost the championship to Messi, but not by much - by 2 million dollars. As a result, Cristiano's average annual income was 108 million. As noted above, Cristiano is actively involved in advertising activities. Ronaldo has a lifetime contract with Nike worth 1 billion. In 2017–2018, the football player earned 61 million on the field, and 47 million from investors.
Cristiano loudly declares himself as the “most brilliant” football player and person. An ideal life, career, car - all these attributes of a player increase income exponentially.
The mixed martial arts fighter received a $100 million fee for the same fight that brought Mayweather record earnings. The ring star did not fight in vain - now McGregor has luxurious mansions on two continents - in Dublin and Las Vegas. Konon has never been shy about his love for big money and luxury cars.
Our own fleet includes eight luxury cars - Mercedes, Cadillac, BMW. No one predicted untold riches for the 29-year-old Irishman. He grew up in a poor family and studied plumbing. Perhaps living before adulthood in one of the most criminal cities in Ireland formed a fighting character and a desire for loud victories.
The Brazilian forward, with an average annual income of $90 million, according to the Center for Sports Research, became the most expensive player in the world, surpassing Messi, Ronaldo and Beckham. The CIES Football Observatory focuses on the immediate value of a player on the football field, leaving the money of investors and advertising agencies unaccounted for.
That is, the evaluation criteria are the number of goals scored, participation in championships, and average time spent at the club. The professional value of the player is taken into account from the point of view of the buyer's interest. According to estimates, the latest contract with the Paris Saint-Germain club will bring Neymar 350 million until 2022.
The NBA player for the Cleveland Cavaliers is the leader among the highest paid basketball players in the world. The secret to LeBron's success lies not so much in professional skills, but in a skillful marketing strategy. Since 2006, LeBron founded LRMR Ventures and SpringHill Entertainment. In 2015 – media company Uninterrupted. Business income in 2018 amounted to $53 million, while direct play on the field brought the basketball player $35 million.
In recent years, James has been trying to move away from the athlete-brand model, but maintains partnerships with Nike, Coca-Cola and other high-profile manufacturers. Thus, he has been on the list of the richest basketball players for the fourth year with an annual earnings of $88 million.
Tennis is considered the most profitable sport in terms of marketing. This is explained simply. Firstly, this is a year-round game, and secondly, it is popular everywhere. Thirdly, true fans are very wealthy people. Roger Federer has won a prize fund of $116 million throughout his brilliant career. But this amount is infinitesimal compared to investment costs and advertising revenues. Federer's regular partners include Nike, Credit Suze, Moet & Chandon.
For the first time among the highly paid NBA basketball players, a Golden State Warriors player appeared. Stefan's salary is $12 million, which puts him in 83rd place among NBA players. In addition, the title of a successful athlete is not yet familiar to young Stefan.
But Curry's advertising revenues tripled after signing a contract with the NBA. In 2018, Stefan's total income amounted to $77 million, which allowed the young basketball player to enter the top ten richest athletes.
The American football athlete became the record holder for the highest income among NFL players. So, the net salary is $30 million, guaranteed payments from the club are around 100 million, bonuses are 46.5. Over the past year, thanks to a successfully signed contract with the Atlanta Falcons, Matt reached $67.3 million, which secured him a place of honor in Forbes.
Another athlete of popular football in America earned $59 million in 2018. thanks to collaborations with Nike and PepsiCo, as well as a signed contract with the Detroit Lions until 2022.
This is what the TOP 10 most expensive and famous athletes of our time look like, from which it is clear that not a single Russian citizen has yet managed to conquer the “Olympic peak,” but not a single player from the ranking, except Mayweather, bears the title of the richest athletes in history.
TOP 10 richest athletes in the history of the world
In this top ten there are people with billion-dollar fortunes, stars about whom legends are made and which all newcomers try to emulate. There will be no facts from their history here, but only bare numbers that would be the envy of modern Forbes leaders. Their achievements in dollar equivalent are as follows:
His fortune at the end of 2016 is estimated at $1.7 billion. Earnings from playing in the NBA amounted to 93 million - this is an absolute record among basketball players. The rest is advertising. Nike still pays Michael about 100 million a year due to the phenomenal success of the Jordan brand.
Who can argue that golf is lucrative in terms of advertising? It’s not for nothing that they say that golfers are the richest people on the planet. Tiger Woods is the leader of the rankings with a total fortune of $1.65 billion. Moreover, half of this fabulous amount is advertising revenue. It is worth noting that the golfer continues his sports career today, despite a recent injury.
The career of the famous golfer lasted half a century - also a kind of record. If you add up his salary, income from brands and sponsors, Palmer earned $1.35 billion. Unfortunately, the athlete recently died, but his name will forever occupy an honorable place in the history of golf.
Jed retired from the golf world in 2004 and has been involved in business ever since. The author of several hundred projects, he managed to make a fortune - 1.15 billion dollars.
Schumacher is a household name, so there is no point in talking about career achievements. The seven-time world champion had a record salary of 80 million a year. During his life, the famous Schumacher became a dollar billionaire, earning 1 billion from racing.
Forbes magazine published a traditional ranking of athletes who earned the most in 2017. In total, the first hundred earned $3.8 billion. Athletes represent 23 countries, and 65 of them play basketball. Most of the top 100 are basketball players – 40 players.
Floyd Mayweather, boxing. $285 million
According to the publication, the highest paid athlete of last year was American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. In 2017, he fought only one fight - the so-called “money fight” against the mixed martial arts champion Irishman Conor McGregor. The American received $275 million in prize money.
Sponsorship contracts brought another $10 million to the boxer.
It is worth adding that this is the fourth time in the last seven years that an American tops the ranking of athletes who earned the most in a year. In terms of income, he is approaching the $1 billion mark.
Lionel Messi, football. $111 million
Second on the list is Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi. The Argentine has moved up to second position thanks to a new 5-year contract with the Spanish club, which will see him earn more than $80 million a year (including bonuses). This made the player the highest paid football player in the world. He also has many sponsorship contracts. In addition, the Messi Experience Park theme park is due to open in the Chinese city of Nanjing in 2020.
Cristiano Ronaldo, football. $108 million
Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo earned slightly less in 2017. At the same time, the football player has a lower salary in the Spanish Real Madrid - about 50 million dollars than Messi, but earns significantly more from sponsorship contracts and his own business of the CR7 brand, hotels and restaurants.
At the same time, Ronaldo remains the most popular athlete in the world with 322 million subscribers worldwide.
Conor McGregor, mixed martial arts. $99 million
Despite the fact that the Irishman had many more fights than Floyd Mayweather, a defeat in a head-to-head fight prevented him from earning more than $100 million. However, he received a lot from sponsors, of whom there were quite a few.
Neymar, football. $90 million
The top 5 is completed by another football player. This is the Brazilian Neymar, who in the summer of 2017 moved from Barcelona to the French PSG for a record 222 million euros. According to the contract, the player will earn $350 million over 5 years (until 2022) in Paris. The rest of his income comes from sponsorship contracts.
Also on the list are basketball player LeBron James ($85.5 million), tennis player Roger Federer ($77.2 million), basketball player Stephen Curry ($76.9 million) and two American football players - Matt Ryan ($67.3 million ) and Matthew Stafford ($59.5 million).
Top 10 highest paid athletes in the world
The highest paid Formula 1 driver is Lewis Hamilton ($51 million, 12th place); in golf, the lead continues to be held by Tiger Woods ($43.3 million, 16th place). Athlete Usain Bolt is in 45th place with $31 million in earnings. Last in the top 100 ranking is basketball player Nicolas Batum with an income of $22.9 million. There are no Ukrainians on the list.
It is worth noting that the majority of the list are athletes performing in American leagues - NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball. However, there is not a single hockey player on the list.
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