Soccer is the biggest money-maker among the world’s highest-paid athletes in 2026, according to Forbes.
The sport accounts for five of the top 20 athletes, who collectively earned $719 million, or nearly 32% of the $2.26 billion earned by the entire group.
Basketball also places five athletes in the top 20, but their combined earnings total $547.7 million. That is about $171 million less than soccer, despite both sports having the same number of representatives.
The difference largely comes from soccer’s biggest stars. Cristiano Ronaldo leads with $300 million, followed by Lionel Messi at $140 million, Karim Benzema at $104 million, Kylian Mbappé at $95 million, and Erling Haaland at $80 million.
Ronaldo’s earnings are particularly striking when compared with American football. The three NFL players who made the top 20 earned a combined $244.1 million. Ronaldo alone made $55.9 million more than all three combined.
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World’s Highest-Paid Athletes By Total Earnings, Ranked
| wdt_ID | wdt_created_by | wdt_created_at | wdt_last_edited_by | wdt_last_edited_at | Rank | Name | Sport | Nationality | Total Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Soccer | Portugal | $300 M |
| 2 | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | 2 | Canelo Alvarez | Boxing | Mexico | $170 M |
| 3 | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | 3 | Lionel Messi | Soccer | Argentina | $140 M |
| 4 | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | 4 | LeBron James | Basketball | United States | $137.8 M |
| 5 | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | 5 | Shohei Ohtani | Baseball | Japan | $127.6 M |
| 6 | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | 6 | Stephen Curry | Basketball | United States | $124.7 M |
| 7 | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | 7 | Jon Rahm | Golf | Spain | $107 M |
| 8 | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | 8 | Karim Benzema | Soccer | France | $104 M |
| 9 | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | 9 | Kevin Durant | Basketball | United States | $103.8 M |
| 10 | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | Patience | 01/10/2026 02:27 PM | 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Auto Racing | United Kingdom | $100 M |
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