Bastketball megastar LeBron James has topped Sportico‘s 2022 list of the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world while Cameroonian Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has emerged as the highest-paid player in Africa.
James raked in a whopping $126.9 million over the past 12 months. His enviable earnings came from his Los Angeles Lakers salary/winnings ($36.9 million) as well as endorsements and other deals ($90 million).
“The top 100 athletes play 10 different sports and collectively earned an estimated $4.5 billion in salary, prize money and endorsements over the last 12 months – a 6 percent increase from last year’s best-paid stars,” Sportico said.
Basketball, American football, soccer and baseball contribute the largest share of athletes and earnings in the list, followed by golf, boxing, tennis, racing, mixed martial arts (MMA) and cricket.
36 basketball players are in the list, all of them from various NBA franchises. 25 NFL players also feature, followed by 13 soccer players and 12 baseball players. Golf (4 athletes), boxing (3), tennis (3), racing (2), and MMA and cricket (one apiece) round up the ten sports.
Highest-paid soccer players
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi is the highest-paid soccer in the world in 2022 and the second athlete in the overall list, earning a staggering $122 million from his salary ($72 million) and endorsements ($50 million).
He’s followed by Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who earned $113 million ($60 million salary and $55 million in endorsements), and Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar, who raked in $103 million ($65 million salary and $38 million in endorsements).
In Africa, the highest-paid soccer player is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who is from Egypt. He ranks at number 57 in the overall list, having earned $34.2 million. Of this, $20.2 million was from his salary/winnings and $14 million from endorsements.
Highest-paid player in Africa in 2022
The 2022 highest-paid player or athlete in Africa is Cameroon’s Joel Embiid, who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers basketball franchise in the United States. He earned a total of $34.5 million, of which $28.5 million was his salary and $6 million was income from endorsements. He ranks at number 55 in the overall list.
Salah is next at number 57, and Cameroonian basketballer Pascal Siakam is the third and last African in the list at number 89. He earned $30.7 million, of which $29.7 million was from his salary at Toronto Raptors and $1 million from endorsements.
Full list of highest-paid athletes in the world
Below is the top 100 list. Details include rank, athlete’s name, and his/her sport, team, nationality and earnings in US dollars ($).
- LeBron James | Basketball | LA Lakers | US| 126.9m
- Lionel Messi | Soccer | Paris Saint Germain | Argentina | $122m
- Cristiano Ronaldo | Soccer | Manchester United | Portugal | $115m
- Neymar | Soccer| Paris Saint Germain | Brazil | $103m
- Canelo Alvarez | Boxing | Mexico| $89m
- Stephen Curry | Basketball | Golden State Warriors | US | $86.2m
- Kevin Durant | Basketball | Brooklyn Nets | US | $85.9m
- Roger Federer | Tennis | Switzerland | $85.7m
- James Harden | Basketball | Philadelphia 76ers | US | $76m
- Tiger Woods | Golf | US | $73.5m
- Matthew Stafford | American Football | LA Rams | US | $73.3m
- Giannis Antetokounmpo | Basketball | Milwaukee Bucks | Greece | $71.9m
- Russel Westbrook | Basketball | LA Lakers US | $69.8m
- Tyson Fury | Boxing | UK | $69m
- Josh Allen | American Football | Buffalo Bills | US | $66.5m
- Tom Brady | American Football | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | US | $58.4m
- Deshaun Watson | American Football | Cleveland Browns | US | $56m
- Klay Thompson | Basketball | Golden State Warriors | US | $54.2m
- Lewis Hamilton | Racing | Mercedes | UK | $54m
- Naomi Osaka | Tennis | Japan | $53.2m
- Aaron Rodgers | American Football | Green Bay Packers | US | $53m
- Conor McGregor | MMA | Ireland | $52m
- Damian Lillard | Basketball | Portland Trailblazers | US | $51.4m
- Mike Trout | Baseball | LA Angels | US | $49.5m
- Kylian Mbappé | Soccer | Paris Saint-Germain | France | $48.8m
- Patrick Mahomes | American Football | Kansas City Chiefs | US | $48.6m
- Kirk Cousins | American Football | Minnesota Vikings | US | $48.5m
- Kyrie Irving | Basketball | Brooklyn Nets | US | $44.9m
- Paul George | Basketball | LA Clippers | US | $44m
- Gareth Bale | Soccer | Real Madrid | UK | $43m
- Max Verstappen | Racing | Red Bull Racing | Belgium | $43m
- Anthony Davis | Basketball | LA Lakers | US | $41.8m
- Kahwi Leonard | Basketball | LA Clippers | US | $41m
- Marshon Lattimore | American Football | New Orleans Saints | US | $41m
- Amari Cooper | American Football | Cleveland Browns | US | $40.8m
- Jimmy Butler | Basketball | Miami Heat | US | $40.5m
- John Wall | Basketball | Houston Rockets | US | $40.4m
- Ryan Ramczyk | American Football | New Orleans Saints | US | $38.7m
- Rory McIlroy | Golf | Ireland | $38.4m
- Trevor Bauer | Baseball | LA Dodgers | US | $38.2m
- Eden Hazard | Soccer | Real Madrid | Belgium | $37.9m
- Von Miller | American Football | Buffalo Bills | US | $37.8m
- T.J. Watt | American Football | Pittsburgh Steelers | US | $37.7m
- Phil Mickelson | Golf | US | $37.1m
- Gerrit Cole | Baseball | New York Yankees | US | $37m
- Jake Paul | Boxing | US | $37m
- Mike Williams | American Football | LA Chargers | US | $36.8m
- Chris Godwin | American Football | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | US| $36.8m
- Stefon Diggs | American Football | Bufallo Bills | US | $36.2m
- Chris Paul | Basketball | Phoenix Suns | US | $35.8m
- Devon Booker | Basketball | Phoenix Suns | US | $35.5m
- Serena Williams | Tennis | US | $35.3m
- Russel Wilson | American Football | Denver Broncos | US | $35m
- Andrés Iniesta | Soccer | Vissel Kobe | Spain | $35m
- Joel Embiid | Basketball | Philadelphia 76ers | Cameroon | $34.5m
- Bradley Beal | Basketball | Washington Wizards | US | $34.3m
- Jamal Adams | American Football | Seattle Seahawks | US | $34.2m
- Mohamed Salah | Soccer | Liverpool | Egypt | $34.2m
- Stephen Strasburg | Baseball | Washington Nationals | US | $34.1m
- Tobias Harris | Basketball | Philadelphia 76ers | US | $34m
- Xavien Howard | American Football | Miami Dolphins | US | $33.9m
- Virat Kohli | Cricket | Royal Challengers Bangalore | India | $33.9m
- Khris Middleton | Basketball | Milwaukee Bucks | US | $33.8m
- Robert Lewandowski | Soccer | Bayern Munich | Poland | $33.8m
- Davante Adams | American Football | Las Vegas Raiders | US | $33.6m
- Brandon Scherff | American Football | Jacksonville Jaguars | US | $33.4m
- Bryce Harper | Baseball | Philadelphia Phillies | US | $33.1m
- Kevin De Bruyne | Soccer | Manchester City | Belgium | $33.1m
- D’Angelo Russel | Basketball | Minnesota Timberwolves | US | $33m
- Dak Prescott | American Football | Dallas Cowboys | US | $33m
- Rudy Gobert | Basketball | Utah Jazz | France | $33m
- Trevor Lawrence | American Football | Jacksonville Jaguars | US | $32.8m
- Blake Griffin | Basketball | Brooklyn Nets | US | $32.7m
- Paul Pogba | Soccer | Manchester United | France | $32.7m
- Donovan Mitchell | Basketball | Utah Jazz | US | $32.5m
- Kristaps Porziņģis | Basketball | Washington Wizards | Latvia | $32.5m
- Allen Robinson | American Football | LA Rams | US | $32.4m
- David Price | Baseball | LA Dodgers | US | $32.3m
- Jrue Holiday | Basketball | Milwaukee Bucks | US | $31.7m
- CJ McCollum | Basketball | New Orleans Pelicans | US | $31.6m
- Raheem Sterling | Soccer | Manchester City | UK | $31.6m
- Karl-Anthony Towns | Basketball | Minnesota Timberwolves | Dominican | $31.5m
- Jonathan Allen | American Football | Washington Commanders | US | $31.4m
- Miguel Cabrera | Baseball | Detroit Tigers | Venezuela | $31.4m
- Justin Verlander | Baseball | Houston Astros | US | $31.3m
- Jordan Spieth | Golf | US | $31.3m
- Kevin Love | Basketball | Cleveland Cavaliers | US | $31.1m
- Antoine Griezmann | Soccer | Atlético Madrid | France | $31m
- Pascal Siakam | Basketball | Toronto Raptors | Cameroon | $30.7m
- Anthony Rendon | Baseball | LA Angels | US | $30.6m
- Manny Machado | Baseball | San Diego Padress | US | $30.5m
- Jayson Tatum | Basketball | Bolton Celtics | US | $30.3m
- Grady Jarrett | American Football | Atlanta Falcons | US | $30.3m
- Kris Bryant | Baseball | Colorado Rockies | US | $30.2m
- Clayton Kershaw | Baseball | LA Dodgers | US | $30.2m
- Jamal Murray | Basketball | Denver Nuggets | Canada | $30.1m
- Brandon Ingram | Basketball | New Orleans Pelicans | US | $30m
- Gordon Hayward | Basketball | Charlotte Hornets | US | $29.9m
- Nikola Jokić | Basketball | Denver Nuggets | Serbia | 429.9m
- Andrew Wiggins | Basketball | Golden State Warriors | Canada | $29.6m