LeBron James has long been one of the most marketable athletes in sports, and he made the top five in Forbes latest list of the highest-paid athletes in the world.
James, however, doesn’t come close to the leading trio of soccer superstars, led by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Buoyed by an annual salary of $75 million from his new club Al-Nassr, Ronaldo’s on-field and off-field earnings reached a Forbes estimate of $136 million in 2023
Lionel Messi may have won the World Cup — and placed second on the Forbes 2023 list — but Ronaldo can at least celebrate another massive year of paydays.
Here is Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes in 2023:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo: $136 million
Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports
2. Lionel Messi: $130 million
Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports
3. Kylian Mbappé: $120 million
Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports
4. LeBron James: $119.5 million
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
5. Canelo Álvarez: $110 million
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
6. Dustin Johnson: $107 million
Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
7. Phil Mickelson: $106 million
Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
8. Steph Curry: $100.4 million
Leon Bennett/Getty Images
9. Roger Federer: $95.1 million
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
10. Kevin Durant: $89.1 million
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
