James has become a global icon in a sport with massive worldwide appeal, but he still can’t quite match the earnings of the biggest star in the most popular sport on the planet. Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo banked $93 million over the past 12 months to retain the crown of the world’s highest-paid athlete for the second straight year.
The Portugal captain, who lifted his fourth Champions League title on Saturday, has a lifetime contract with Nike worth around $1 billion, and counts the likes of Tag Heuer, Herbalife, Abbott Labs as brands for whom he's a pitchman.
"Massive TV contracts are fuelling bigger salaries across team sports, pushing the entry level to qualify for the top 100 athletes higher than ever, but the retirement of several prolific endorsers like Peyton Manning and Kobe Bryant dented sponsorship income this year," said Kurt Badenhausen, senior editor, Forbes Media.
The list of elite athletes consists of players from 11 different sports. Basketball dominates the list with a record 32 NBA players among the top 100, up from 18 in 2016, followed by baseball with 22 players, American football with 15 and football with nine.
Cristiano Ronaldo just helped Real Madrid win the Champions League,
So he deserves to be no.1, he's a great athlete!
Thanks for posting this list, it's great!
Being a Manchester United fan I cant help but love him. Amazing Talent!!
Oh man 2017 AINT over yet. Wait till the fall when Connor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather fight. It is projected Mayweather will break $200 million and McGregor can be over $100 million.
All in just ONE fight!
hopefully it actually happens and isnt all talk like always.