Boxing superstar canelo alvarez has surged to second place, overtaking lionel messi, as the latest rankings reveal major shifts among elite athletes. Click on a trending topic to learn more about it. They earned an estimated $6. 2 billion in total income in 2024, including $4. 8 billion in salary and prize money, as well as $1. 4 billion off the field, court, course or track. Β· on forbes list of the top-earning athletes , 10 surpassed $101 million. Forbes list of the worlds highest - paid athletes this is a list of the highest - paid athletes in the world as ranked by forbes magazine. Β· cristiano ronaldo has topped the world’s highest- paid athletes list in 2025, maintaining his dominance at the summit of global sports earnings. The 100 highest- paid athletes include players from eight sports and 27 countries. Full earnings list, top 10 superstars, on-field vs off-field income, saudi sports boom, brand deals, and faqs. This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million. Β· combined, the 10 highest - paid athletes brought in $1. 4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1. 38 billion and the largest total since forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990. Β· discover the highest - paid athletes in the world in 2026. Ai-generated content sometimes contains inaccurate or incomplete information. Yahoo is using openai to generate summaries for this content. Β· sports fans are always astounded by the amount of money top athletes are able to secure, and sportico just dropped the 2025 list of highest- paid athletes. While the names in the top 100 aren’t. See who ranked at the top, including three nba stars and an nfl quarterback.