The highest-paid athletes
Athlete pay is messy: club wages, cap hits, and reported deals do not always match. More/Less uses one estimated annual on-field number per player so two cards can be compared.
These are not endorsement totals and not career earnings. A new contract or a league-wide raise can make a row stale until we rebuild the list.
From the MoneyGames database · 100 entries · · Forbes / Spotrac / Capology
| # | Name | Annual salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cristiano RonaldoSoccer · Al Nassr | $230M |
| 2 |  Karim BenzemaSoccer · Al Ittihad | $100M |
| 3 |  Kylian MbappéSoccer · Real Madrid | $70.0M |
| 4 |  Patrick MahomesNFL · Kansas City Chiefs | $63.1M |
| 5 |  Stephen CurryNBA · Golden State Warriors | $62.6M |
| 6 |  Lionel MessiSoccer · Inter Miami | $60.0M |
| 7 |  Erling HaalandSoccer · Manchester City | $60.0M |
| 8 |  Dak PrescottNFL · Dallas Cowboys | $60.0M |
| 9 |  Nikola JokićNBA · Denver Nuggets | $59.0M |
| 10 |  Giannis AntetokounmpoNBA · Miami Heat | $58.5M |
| 11 |  Anthony DavisNBA · Washington Wizards | $58.5M |
| 12 |  Jayson TatumNBA · Boston Celtics | $58.5M |
| 13 |  Joel EmbiidNBA · Philadelphia 76ers | $58.0M |
| 14 |  Devin BookerNBA · Phoenix Suns | $57.1M |
| 15 |  Jaylen BrownNBA · Boston Celtics | $57.1M |
| 16 |  Karl-Anthony TownsNBA · New York Knicks | $57.1M |
| 17 |  Jimmy ButlerNBA · Golden State Warriors | $56.8M |
| 18 |  Matthew StaffordNFL · Los Angeles Rams | $55.0M |
| 19 |  Josh AllenNFL · Buffalo Bills | $55.0M |
| 20 |  Jordan LoveNFL · Green Bay Packers | $55.0M |
| 21 |  Trevor LawrenceNFL · Jacksonville Jaguars | $55.0M |
| 22 |  Joe BurrowNFL · Cincinnati Bengals | $55.0M |
| 23 |  Kevin DurantNBA · Houston Rockets | $54.8M |
| 24 |  Paul GeorgeNBA · Philadelphia 76ers | $54.1M |
| 25 |  Brock PurdyNFL · San Francisco 49ers | $53.0M |
| 26 |  Jared GoffNFL · Detroit Lions | $53.0M |
| 27 |  LeBron JamesNBA · Los Angeles Lakers | $52.8M |
| 28 |  Justin HerbertNFL · Los Angeles Chargers | $52.5M |
| 29 |  Lamar JacksonNFL · Baltimore Ravens | $52.0M |
| 30 |  Jalen HurtsNFL · Philadelphia Eagles | $51.0M |
| 31 |  Kawhi LeonardNBA · LA Clippers | $50.3M |
| 32 |  Cade CunninghamNBA · Detroit Pistons | $50.1M |
| 33 |  Donovan MitchellNBA · Cleveland Cavaliers | $50.1M |
| 34 |  Evan MobleyNBA · Cleveland Cavaliers | $50.1M |
| 35 |  Jamal MurrayNBA · Denver Nuggets | $50.1M |
| 36 |  Sadio ManéSoccer · Al Nassr | $50.0M |
| 37 |  Will Anderson Jr.NFL · Houston Texans | $50.0M |
| 38 |  Bam AdebayoNBA · Miami Heat | $49.5M |
| 39 |  Luka DončićNBA · Los Angeles Lakers | $49.5M |
| 40 |  De'Aaron FoxNBA · San Antonio Spurs | $49.5M |
| 41 |  Trae YoungNBA · Washington Wizards | $49.5M |
| 42 |  Jaren Jackson Jr.NBA · Utah Jazz | $49.0M |
| 43 |  Zach LaVineNBA · Sacramento Kings | $49.0M |
| 44 |  Anthony EdwardsNBA · Minnesota Timberwolves | $48.9M |
| 45 |  Tyrese HaliburtonNBA · Indiana Pacers | $48.9M |
| 46 |  Pascal SiakamNBA · Indiana Pacers | $48.9M |
| 47 |  Micah ParsonsNFL · Green Bay Packers | $46.5M |
| 48 |  Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderNBA · Oklahoma City Thunder | $46.0M |
| 49 |  Deshaun WatsonNFL · Cleveland Browns | $46.0M |
| 50 |  Aidan HutchinsonNFL · Detroit Lions | $45.0M |
| 51 |  Daniel JonesNFL · Indianapolis Colts | $44.0M |
| 52 |  Jaxon Smith-NjigbaNFL · Seattle Seahawks | $42.1M |
| 53 |  Ja MorantNBA · Memphis Grizzlies | $42.0M |
| 54 |  Myles GarrettNFL · Los Angeles Rams | $41.6M |
| 55 |  T.J. WattNFL · Pittsburgh Steelers | $41.0M |
| 56 |  Ja'Marr ChaseNFL · Cincinnati Bengals | $40.3M |
| 57 |  Danielle HunterNFL · Houston Texans | $40.1M |
| 58 |  Vinicius Jr.Soccer · Real Madrid | $40.0M |
| 59 |  Zion WilliamsonNBA · New Orleans Pelicans | $40.0M |
| 60 |  Paolo BancheroNBA · Orlando Magic | $39.0M |
| 61 |  Chet HolmgrenNBA · Oklahoma City Thunder | $39.0M |
| 62 |  Jalen WilliamsNBA · Oklahoma City Thunder | $39.0M |
| 63 |  Scottie BarnesNBA · Toronto Raptors | $38.0M |
| 64 |  Franz WagnerNBA · Orlando Magic | $38.0M |
| 65 |  Jalen CarterNFL · Philadelphia Eagles | $38.0M |
| 66 |  Kalidou KoulibalySoccer · Al Hilal | $37.0M |
| 67 |  Maxx CrosbyNFL · Las Vegas Raiders | $35.5M |
| 68 |  Quinnen WilliamsNFL · Dallas Cowboys | $35.3M |
| 69 |  Mohamed SalahSoccer · Liverpool | $35.0M |
| 70 |  Lamine YamalSoccer · Barcelona | $33.0M |
| 71 |  Jude BellinghamSoccer · Real Madrid | $29.0M |
| 72 |  Sergej Milinković-SavićSoccer · Al Hilal | $28.0M |
| 73 |  Ivan ToneySoccer · Al Ahli | $28.0M |
| 74 |  Harry KaneSoccer · Bayern Munich | $27.0M |
| 75 |  NeymarSoccer · Santos | $25.0M |
| 76 |  Jamal MusialaSoccer · Bayern Munich | $25.0M |
| 77 |  Darwin NúñezSoccer · Al Hilal | $24.0M |
| 78 |  Virgil van DijkSoccer · Liverpool | $23.0M |
| 79 |  Kevin De BruyneSoccer · Napoli | $22.0M |
| 80 |  Robert LewandowskiSoccer · Barcelona | $22.0M |
| 81 |  Victor OsimhenSoccer · Galatasaray | $22.0M |
| 82 |  Bruno FernandesSoccer · Manchester United | $21.0M |
| 83 |  Marcus RashfordSoccer · Barcelona | $20.0M |
| 84 |  CasemiroSoccer · Manchester United | $20.0M |
| 85 |  Phil FodenSoccer · Manchester City | $20.0M |
| 86 |  Ousmane DembéléSoccer · PSG | $20.0M |
| 87 |  Bukayo SakaSoccer · Arsenal | $18.0M |
| 88 |  RodriSoccer · Manchester City | $18.0M |
| 89 |  Bernardo SilvaSoccer · Manchester City | $18.0M |
| 90 |  Lautaro MartínezSoccer · Inter Milan | $18.0M |
| 91 |  Declan RiceSoccer · Arsenal | $17.0M |
| 92 |  Martin ØdegaardSoccer · Arsenal | $16.0M |
| 93 |  PedriSoccer · Barcelona | $16.0M |
| 94 |  Antonio RüdigerSoccer · Real Madrid | $16.0M |
| 95 |  GaviSoccer · Barcelona | $15.0M |
| 96 |  Rafael LeãoSoccer · AC Milan | $15.0M |
| 97 |  Khvicha KvaratskheliaSoccer · PSG | $15.0M |
| 98 |  Federico ValverdeSoccer · Real Madrid | $15.0M |
| 99 |  Thibaut CourtoisSoccer · Real Madrid | $14.0M |
| 100 |  Alisson BeckerSoccer · Liverpool | $14.0M |
Sources: Forbes, Spotrac, and Capology estimates. Soccer, NBA, and NFL only.