Cristiano Ronaldo has cinched the top spot on Forbes’ list of highest paid athletes Globally, marking his fourth entry into this list along the span of his incredible career. Ronaldo’s recent move to Saudi Arabian Club Al-Nassr is considered a factor in this, as it has significantly boosted his earnings. Forbes estimates his total earnings at an unprecedented $260 million, setting the record-highest for a soccer player.

highest paid athletes globally
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Ronaldo’s on-field earnings are reported to be $200 million. In addition to this, his off-field ventures like sponsorship deals like Nike, Binance and Herbalife have added another $60 million to his income. His social media presence, particularly his Instagram account where 629 million people follow him is a huge factor in attracting global brand endorsements. 

Second in position, Spanish golfer John Rahm has been propelled to this post after he switched to the Saudi-funded LIV Golf tour. Rahm is also one of the 22 athletes under the age of 30 on the list, making him a game-changer. He’s young, he’s on the rise and perhaps, one day, he’ll take the top spot. Rahm’s move to LIV Golf tour itself left him with a payment of $300 million, a staggering amount in the golf world. Beyond this sum, Rahm’s total earnings have reached $218 million— making him one of the only two artists to surpass $200 million mark alongside Ronaldo. 

Lionel Messi, legendary soccer star from Argentine, is third on the list. Messi’s transfer to Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami led his final earnings to $65 million and enhanced his off-field income to $70 million through brand endorsements with companies like Adidas and Apple. Messi’s total earnings have amounted to be $135 million. 

highest paid athletes globally
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The first NBA player to score 40,000 career points— LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers superstar— is ranked fourth on the list, with earnings of $128.2 million. James, at the moment, is also preparing for a potential final Olympic appearance, to add to his brilliant list of achievements. 

According to Forbes, the cutoff for this year’s top 50 is reported to be $45.2 million, a 20% hike from the previous record in 2022. Despite this, however, 10 new faces appeared on the list while eight others returned after notable periods of absence from the list. Stars like Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Tom Brady have already settled into retirement and list-charters like Ronaldo and LeBron James may follow into this soon. 

Most athletes on this list are accredited to the NBA at 19 while NFL follows this with 11 of its own and global soccer comes third with 8. This means that at least 38 athletes on this top 50 list can be chalked back to these three sports. 

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