World’s Top 10 Richest Sports Personalities

With millions of sporting fans across the world, it’s apparent that there’s plenty of money to be made in the world of sports. With winnings, endorsements and promotions running into multi-million dollar contracts, the world’s top sports personalities are constantly raking in the moolah. To give you an idea about their fortunes, here’s a list of the Top 10 richest sports personalities in the world.

#1: Floyd Mayweather: Former professional boxer and an American professional boxing promoter, Floyd Mayweather has the record of holding multiple world titles in varied weight classes. He holds the undefeated record of 50-0, which is the second best in the world. He made a one-match comeback in 2017, which enabled him to earn $285 million.

#2: Lionel Messi: He may not have performed as expected in the Football World Cup in Russia, but his performance in 2017 was quite good, having scored 45 goals in the Top 5 European Leagues. He also got an extension of his contract with Barcelona. Messi has a lifelong contract with Adidas and deals with other brands such as Pepsi, Gatorade, Huawei, etc. In 2017, Messi’s total income was around $111 million.

#3: Cristiano Ronaldo: This top footballer scored 44 goals during the last season and received the Ballon d’Or for the fifth time, which is given to the world’s best player. Ronaldo has a lifetime contract with Nike and deals with other brands such as American Tourister, EA Sports, etc. His earning in 2017 was $108 million.

#4: Conor McGregor: Conor was not active since November 2016, but his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather in 2017 fetched him top dollars. With the buzz being created by this match, Conor now has contracts with various brands such as Burger King, Anheuser-Busch, Monster Energy, Beats by Dre, David August, Betsafe, etc. In 2017, his total earing was $99 million.

#5: Neymar: This top footballer from Brazil has fans across the world. Neymar has contracts with various brands such as Nike, McDonalds, Gillette, Red Bull, etc. He has also signed a deal with Paris Saint-Germain, which is for a term of five years and involves a cash outlay in excess of $600 million. His total earning in 2017 was $90 million.

The next five in the list of world’s richest sports personalities are:

• #6: LeBron James, basketball player from USA, earned $85 million in 2017
• #7: Roger Federer from Switzerland earned $77 million in 2017
• #8: Stephen Curry, basketball player from USA, earned $76 million in 2017
• #9: Matt Ryan, American Football player from USA, earned $67 million in 2017
• #10: Matthew Stafford, American Football player from USA, earned $ 59 million in 2017