Nigerian named alongside Messi, Ronaldo as world’s highest-earning athletes

Greece born Nigerian basketball player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, has been listed among the top ten highest-earning athletes by Forbes in 2022.

Giannis joins football greats, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as they continue their long-term rivalry on and off the pitch.

In its annual ratings, Forbes said the group of sports stars collectively earned more than N411 billion ($990 million) in 12 months.

The 2022 figure is the third-highest ever recording a 6% drop from 2021’s total of N623 billion ($1.5 billion) and the N664.8 billion ($1.06 billion) total of 2018.

This year’s ratings include on-field and off-field earnings which include salaries, bonuses and all prize money earned between May 1, 2021, and May 1, 2022.

Professional athletes in football, basketball, tennis, boxing and American football made it to the list of highest earners for 2022.

Here’s how your favourite sports stars rank in Forbes’ World Ten Highest-Paid Athletes 2022

Table of Content hide 1GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO 1.1N33.6 BILLION ($80.9 MILLION) 2TOM BRADY 2.1N34.8 BILLION ($83.9 MILLION) 3CANELO ALVAREZ 3.1N37 BILLION ($90 MILLION) 4ROGER FEDERER 4.1N37.6 BILLION ($90.7 MILLION) 5KEVIN DURANT 5.1N38 BILLION ($92.1 MILLION) 6Stephen Curry 6.1N38.5 BILLION ($92.8 MILLION) 7NEYMAR 7.1N39 BILLION ($95 MILLION) 8CRISTIANO RONALDO 8.1N47.7 BILLION ($115 MILLION) 9LEBRON JAMES 9.1N50 BILLION ($121.2 MILLION) 10LIONEL MESSI 10.1N53.9 BILLION ($130 MILLION)

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO

N33.6 BILLION ($80.9 MILLION)

With an on-the-field earning of N16.5 billion ($39.9 Million) and N17billion ($41 Million) off-the-field, the 2021 NBA Champion is the only athlete in his 20s who made the list.

Only 27, the two-time Milwaukee Bucks’ MVP has signed a licensing deal with NFTSTAR and picked further endorsements from Google’s Pixel 6 phone as well as WhatsApp. He also joined other investors in WatchBox’s N68.5 billion ($165 million) funding in November.

TOM BRADY

N34.8 BILLION ($83.9 MILLION)

Age 44, his confounded NFT platform, Autograph, raised N70.6 ($170 million) in a funding round announced in January. In March, his co-established a production company, Religion of Sports, and unveiled a deal with Skydance Sports. He also has a new clothing line called, Brady, aside from his production company, 199 Productions. He’s reported signed a ten-year commentary deal worth N155 billion ($375 million) over ten years with Fox Sports, according to the New York Post.

In the year under review, Brady earned N13 billion ($31.9 Million) on-field and N21.6 billion ($52 Million)

CANELO ALVAREZ

N37 BILLION ($90 MILLION)

The 31-year-old boxing star is the only athlete in the sport on the list. His earning on-field within the “tracking window” stands at N35 billion ($85 Million) while he earned N2 billion ($5 Million) outside the ring.

The boxer also owns a restaurant in Mexico, a profitable partnership with Hennessy and is looking to launch gas stations.

ROGER FEDERER

N37.6 BILLION ($90.7 MILLION)

The Swiss professional tennis player who’s yet to appear in a tennis court this year as a result of injuries has only earned N290 million ($0.7 Million) in the year under review but has earned N37 million ($90 Million) with promotions for Rolex and Uniqlo.

KEVIN DURANT

N38 BILLION ($92.1 MILLION)

33-year-old NBA star, Kevin Durant recently signed deals with Coinbase, NBA Top Shot and Weedmaps. His most recent deals are with the following brands; OpenSea and Future.

On the field, the US star earned N17.4 billion ($42.1 Million) and gathered N20.7 billion ($50 Million) outside the basketball court.

Stephen Curry

N38.5 BILLION  ($92.8 MILLION)

Eight-time NBA All-Star ventured into blockchain in December with a collection of sneakers tied to three metaverse platforms. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) reportedly earned the most salaries this season in the NBA. In August 2021, he extended his contract with the Golden State Warriors. According to Forbes, Steph will “make roughly $48 million on the court next season”.

Earnings from the court for the American is put at N19 billion ($45.8 Million) while income off the court is N19.5 billion ($47 Million).

His earnings on the court will reportedly rise to about N24.9 billion ($60 million) in 2025-26.

NEYMAR

N39 BILLION ($95 MILLION)

Not long ago, a Brazilian wonder kid stunned the world with his incredible skills on a soccer pitch. Now 30, the former Barcelona forward reunited with his strike partner, Lionel Messi in PSG colours last August. Like a few other athletes, Neymar is venturing into NFT. In November, he signed with NFTSTAR in January and reportedly spent over N415 billion ($1 million) “on two Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs in one day. The continental treble (La Liga, Copa Del Rey & UCL) winner is short of valuable deals enjoying two major endorsements, Puma and Red Bull.

Earnings from the football pitch for Neymar is N29 billion ($70 Million), while the superstar generated N10.3 billion ($25 Million).

CRISTIANO RONALDO

N47.7 BILLION ($115 MILLION)

With a cumulative 690 million followers across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, it is not difficult to see why the 5-time FIFA Ballon d’Or earns so much. With this amount of followers, the Portuguese charges “sky-high rates from sponsors such as Nike, Herbalife and Clear shampoo”. He’s also an investor in “Tatel restaurants, face of ZujuGP, a forthcoming app aiming to be a digital soccer community.”

Although he earned lower income from kicking the ball compared to 4th place Neymar, the 5-time UCL winner received more than doubled Neymar’s figures from sponsorships and endorsements – N24.9 billion ($60 Million) on-the-field and N22.8 billion ($55 million).

LEBRON JAMES

N50 BILLION ($121.2 MILLION)

Beyond thrusting the ball through the basket, LeBron slams home huge revenue. According to Forbes, the Los Angeles Lakers star last October pushed his net worth to N353 billion ($850 million). This was after he sold “a significant stake in SpringHill—the production company behind both projects—at a valuation of about $725 million”. In January, LeBron also announced an endorsement deal with Crypto.com.

From the basketball court, he generated N17 billion ($41.2 Million), while he received N33 billion ($80 Million) from off-court deals.

LIONEL MESSI

N53.9 BILLION ($130 MILLION)

The “Greatest of all time”, the time being 12months in this case.

Last June, the world was introduced to “Hard Rock International’s first athlete brand ambassador” – Lionel Messi. The 2021 Ballon d’Or winner eventually matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s earnings off the pitch for the first time since 2013. The Argentine also has a deal worth N8.3 billion ($20 million-a-year) partnership with Socios. He retains still deals with Adidas, Budweiser and PepsiCo.

While this may be tough on the pitch for the Barcelona Legend this season, his “money’s good”.

According to Forbes, in the past 12 months, Lionel Messi received N31 billion ($75million) in wages and salaries from walking onto the pitch and further received N22.8 billion ($55 Million) from his numerous endorsements off the pitch.