- Some of the highest-paid sports around the world include basketball, golf, tennis, wrestling, car racing, soccer, and boxing.
- Basketball is said to be the highest-paid sport right now. At the moment, the NBA player LeBron James makes it to the top of the list as the highest-paid NBA player with a total of $111.2 million which he earns from his salary and other paid endorsements.
- In Sports, revenue is generated from TV broadcasting rights, commercial sponsorships, endorsements, and ticket sales. Usually, high revenue-generating teams take their salary cap up while smaller teams struggle to pay their players with the little revenue generated.
There are quite many sports that pay well in the world today. Most of the highest-paid sports stars are among the wealthiest people today. While some sports pay their players well, others don’t. These athletes’ wealth is determined by their salaries, prize money, and endorsement deals. The richest athlete currently is Michael Jordan, the former basketball star.
Basketball is said to be the highest-paid sport at the moment. This is not surprising as the game tops the three popular games in the world. It has a global market value of over $90 billion and has over 2.5 billion fans worldwide. The average salary for NBA players is $7 million.
LeBron James is said to be the highest-earning NBA player for 2021-22. He has a total of $111.2 million in earnings. This figure includes his salary and endorsements.
How Revenue Is Generated in Sports
Basically, the salary and income of sportsmen come from the income generated by their teams and clubs. These monies are made from TV broadcasting rights, commercial sponsorships, endorsements, and ticket sales.
For instance, the money generated in basketball is referred to as basketball-related income (BRI). The BRI contributes to calculating the players’ salary cap. High revenue-generating teams usually take their salary cap up so that smaller teams would spend high amounts of money to retain their players.
The majority of NBA teams generated a revenue of $8.3 billion during the 2019-20 season. These means of generating revenue are the same in almost every sport.
These Are The Sports That Pay Best In The World
10. Wrestling
Wrestling has millions of fans worldwide. The current highest-paid wrestler is Brock Lesnar. He has a salary of $12 million. He is also the only person to hold a WWE World title and a UFC Championship. He is the highest-paid although he does not appear regularly.
- Facts
- Highest paid: $12 million
- First played: 19th Century
- The richest player- Vince McMahon
- Governing Body: FILA
- Popular League: WWE, WWF
9. Baseball
Baseball is also paying its players very high. Most of the players prefer to join Major League Baseball which is the most popular baseball league in the world.
The highest-paid baseball player ever has received $38 million. At the moment, the highest-paid baseball player is Francisco Lindor. He plays as the New York Mets shortstop. He has a total earnings of $45.3 million for the season including his endorsements and that makes him the highest-paid MLB player of the 2021 season.
According to Forbes, the top 10 highest-paid baseball players earned an all-time high of $357 million in the 2020-21 season. Others are Trevor Bauer ($39 million), Mike Trout ($38.5 million), and Gerrit Cole ($36.5 million).
- Facts
- Highest paid: $45.3 million
- First played: the 18th Century
- Richest player- Alex Rodriguez
- Governing Body: IBAF
- Popular League: MLB
8. Ice Hockey
Ice Hockey was first played in the 19th century. The highest-paid Ice Hockey player is Connor McDavid. With a net worth of $30 million, McDavid’s salary is $2 million. His total career earnings have been $62,320,729.
- Facts
- Highest paid: $99 million
- First played: 19th Century
- Richest player- Wayne Gretzky
- Governing Body: IIHF
- Popular Event: IIHF World Championship
Read Also: Mike Trout Net Worth In 2021- How He Makes And Spends His Fortune
7. Car racing
Car racing is said to be one of the most lucrative sports in the world. The highest-paid race car driver right now is Lewis Hamilton. He is also one of the greatest F1 drivers in the world. He has a paycheck of about $36 million and he has earned like $3 million in endorsements alone.
The richest car racing driver so far is Michael Schumacher, he has an estimated net worth of $600 million as of November 2021.
- Facts
- Highest paid: $55 million
- First played: 1867
- Richest player- Michael Schumacher
- Governing Body: FIA
- Popular Event: World Championship
6. Tennis
Tennis is said to be the only sport that tends to pay both men and women very high. The female players are most likely to be on the highest-paid female athletes’ list.
The highest-paid tennis player has earned $106 million a year. The richest tennis player in the world right now is Roger Federer. He is also the highest-paid tennis player. He has earned over $131 million in prize money.
Federer is one of the six athletes to reach $1 billion in his career earnings so far. He has been the highest-paid player for 16 consecutive years. Other players like Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams are also on the list of the highest-paid tennis players.
Tennis players tend to have some of the most expensive endorsement deals.
- Facts
- Highest paid- $106 million
- First played: 19th century
- Richest player-Roger Federer
- Governing Body: ITF
- Popular League: US Open, French Open
5. Soccer
Soccer is described as the most popular sport in the world. The sport has over four billion fans and it is played in almost every country in the world. The highest-paid soccer player has earned $126 million.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the first billionaire football in the world and also the highest-paid soccer player. His salary is said to be around $70 million and his total earnings are said to be around $125 million. He earned this spot after he returned to Manchester United. He also has valuable partnerships with Nike and other brands.
It is said that only three active athletes earn more money commercially than Ronaldo per year: Goger Federer, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods.
The highest-paid female footballer in the world is Carli Lloyd. She has a salary of $518,000 at the National Women’s Soccer League side NJ/NY Gotham.
Unlike other sports like golf where the coaches are paid by the player, in soccer, the coaches are paid by the clubs. The highest-paid manager at the moment is Diego Simeone. the 55-year-old manager is under a contract with Atletico Madrid and it is worth €40.5 million. He has other sponsorship deals as well.
- Facts
- Highest paid- $126 million
- First played: mid-19th century
- Richest player-Cristiano Ronaldo
- Governing Body: FIFA
- Popular League: UEFA Champions League, FIFA World Cup, Euro Cup
4. American Football
American football is also known as a gridiron. It is one of the most-watched sports in the United States of America today. The most popular league in the American football league is the NFL. Most players prefer it because it pays more than others.
The highest-paid footballer in the NFL has earned over $253 million in a year. Popular sports brands have lucrative contracts with most of the players.
The highest-paid footballer at the moment is Patrick Mahomes II. His net worth is over $54.5 million and as part of his earnings, he signed a ten-year contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs which is worth $503 million. He reportedly has a salary of close to $40 million US dollars.
The highest-paid coach in American football is Bill Belichick. He is paid $18 million by
- Facts
- Highest paid- $253 million
- First played: 1869
- Richest player-Roger Staubach
- Governing Body: IFIF
- Popular League: NFL
3. Golf
Golf is said to be an easy-to-learn sport but one of the hardest sports to get to mastery. The highest-paid golfer has earned $127 million in years. The sport became famous in the 17th century but it is now one of the highest-paid sports in the world.
The richest golfer is Tiger Woods who also happens to be one of the richest athletes in the world right now. Tiger Woods has a net worth of over $60 million. He has earned over $1.5 billion from endorsements, appearances, and course design fees.
For the women pro golfers, their average salary is $141,428. There is a huge disparity in golfers’ earnings. The top 20 female golfers are said to earn only $1 million or a little more. Also, sponsorship contracts are mostly for the top-earning and well-known players only.
The players also make money from corporate events, fees from appearances, speaking engagements, instructional videos, books, and licensing fees.
- Facts
- Highest paid ever- $127 Million
- First played- 15th Century
- Richest player- Tiger Woods
- Governing body- IGF
- Popular Events – US Open, British Open, PGA Championship
2. Boxing
Boxing is also one of the highest-paid sports in the world right now. The highest-paid fighter has earned over $333 million in a single match. The promoters generate funds through ticket sales, the sale of broadcast rights to networks, the sale of pay-per-views, etc.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is said to be the richest boxer in the world and he is also one of the richest athletes. He has a net worth of over $450 million. He is the fifth highest-paid athlete of all time and one of the few that has topped $1 billion. Mayweather has made $1.1 billion in his career so far.
It is said that Mayweather makes a lot of money because he promotes his own fights while other boxers have promoters.
The most-watched match in the history of boxing was between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. The boxers reportedly earned almost $300 million each after the fight.
Boxers are paid per fight so there is no regular salary. The earnings range from $100 to millions of dollars per fight.
- Facts
- Highest paid ever- $ 333million
- First played- 688 BC
- Richest player- Floyd Mayweather
- Governing body- AIBA, WBC, WBA, etc
1. Basketball
Basketball is said to be the highest-paying sport because of the huge amounts of salaries the athletes receive from their teams. These athletes also earn millions from their numerous endorsement deals.
Most of the players have their signature shoes and jerseys and that also helps increase their annual income. At the moment, the sport is placed among the most popular sports in America.
So far, the richest NBA player in history is Michael Jordan. He has an estimated net worth of about $1.6 billion.
He had a total salary of over $90 million during his active career. He also earned $1.8 billion from corporate partners like Nike, Hanes, and Gatorade.
Even though LeBron James has the highest earnings in the game right now, he is not the highest-paid player. Stephen Curry is the highest-paid NBA player with a salary cap of $34.5 million and his endorsements are worth $40 million. The 37-year old NBA player has a net worth of $74.5 million as of November 2021.
Even though basketball players are handsomely paid, there is a huge gap between the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players. The WNBA was established in 1996 and the minimum base salary for the players is $221.450. The highest-paid WNBA player in the history of the league is Candace Parker with about $4.6 million.
- Facts
- Highest paid ever- $343 million
- First played- December 21, 1891
- Richest player- Michael Jordan
- Highest Governing body-FIBA
- Popular league-NBA
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