Highest-paid athletes of all time in 2024: Jordan, Tiger, Ronaldo lead the way

Athletes are earning unprecedented amounts thanks to media deals that push up salary caps and new entities such as LIV Golf and the cash-rich Saudi Professional League. Despite the newfound wealth, it’s a sports marketing deal signed 40 years ago that will likely never be matched and set the roadmap for the highest-paid athlete in sports history.

In 1984, Nike signed Michael Jordan, dramatically changing the fortunes of the brand and the player for the next four decades. The surge in Jordan Brand revenue compared to more than two decades ago means Jordan will be doing it many times a year.

The six-time NBA champion has earned an estimated $2.7 billion ($3.75 billion adjusted for inflation) since leaving North Carolina. He leads a star-studded team of athletes from 17 countries and nine sports who make up the 50 highest-paid athletes of all time. Adjusted for inflation, their earnings totaled $50 billion, or $35.5 billion in nominal terms, from salaries, bonuses, endorsements and other celebrity-related sources.

Click here to see the full list of top 50 and detailed methodology.

Jordan was the NBA’s highest-paid player in only two of his 15 seasons, earning a combined $94 million while with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. He scores points off the court and still has endorsement relationships with long-term partners Gatorade, 2K Games, Five Star Fragrances and Upper Deck – his contract with Hanes expires in 2021 after 32 years. However, Nike accounts for the majority of his income, which was conservatively estimated at $250 million last year and will be second only to Cristiano Ronaldo among current and retired athletes in 2023, at $275 million.

In 1984, when Nike signed a royalty-based deal with Jordan, Nike was barely profitable, with annual revenue of $920 million. Last year, the Swoosh generated $51 billion in revenue, with Jordan Brand alone accounting for $6.6 billion.

“Nike has had success with what they call a pull model, where they basically feed you the product through a straw, for all practical purposes,” Williams Trading Co. research analyst Sam Poser said in a phone interview. .” “That way there’s a sense of urgency that if I don’t act now, I’m not going to get it.”

The model has worked so well that Jordan’s revenue has tripled over the past decade, from $2.3 billion in 2015 to an estimated $7 billion this year. Jordan’s annual royalties have soared as Jordan Brand revenue has grown.

Nike’s running business has recently been hit by rivals Hoka and On Holdings, and Lululemon is a growing apparel rival, but Jordan’s revenue grew 29% last year, while men’s (10%), women’s (4%) and Nike Kids compared to (3%).

“Nike has a virtual monopoly on the global basketball business and has no real competitors, but Jordan Brand has a path to higher revenue,” TD Cowen managing director John Kernan said in an interview. “There are many The design talent is committed to Jordan, and if you look around the world, there’s still considerable real potential in this industry.”

Jordan leads 12 basketball players in the top 50, including LeBron James (No. 5 overall, worth $1.7 billion adjusted for inflation), Shaquille O’Neal (No. 13, worth $1.21 billion) and The late Kobe Bryant (No. 14, $1.09 billion). Basketball players benefit from skyrocketing salaries (44 players are making at least $30 million this season) and lucrative sneaker deals that dwarf what NFL or MLB players make.

James is the highest-paid active NBA player this year (including endorsements) and ranks fourth among all athletes with 2023 earnings of $126 million. His career salary will exceed $500 million next season, his endorsement portfolio includes AT&T, Beats, Crypto.com, GMC, Pepsi and Taco Bell, and he has a lifetime contract with Nike worth more than $30 million per year. Like Jordan, who cashed out through ownership of the Charlotte Hornets (which is not included in our totals), James has built stakes in a number of businesses, including stakes in SpringHill Company, Blaze Pizza, Lobos 1707 tequila and Fenway Sports Group .

The second-ranked golfer has eight players in the top 50, including Tiger Woods (No. 2, $2.66 billion), Arnold Palmer (No. 4, $1.76 billion) ) and Phil Mickelson (No. 11, $1.43 billion). Like Jordan, their biggest payday went off the rails. Woods earned $121 million on the PGA Tour, while Palmer earned just $3.6 million on the PGA and Champions Tours; Mickelson benefited from a nine-figure payout from LIV.

There are three keys to a golfer’s swollen bank account: career length, diversification of income sources and role as a walking billboard for a fan base with higher disposable income. Palmer earned $40 million a year until his death at age 87, 43 years after his last PGA Tour victory. Woods, Palmer and Jack Nicklaus launched course design businesses to supplement their winnings, endorsements, royalties and appearance fees. Woods’ off-court earnings peaked in the late 2000s, reaching $100 million per year.

Other top sports figures include soccer player Ronaldo (No. 3, $1.92 billion), tennis player Roger Federer (No. 9, $1.49 billion), boxer Floyd Mayweather (No. 10 No. 1, $1.48 billion), racing athlete Michael Schumacher (No. 10, $1.48 billion). No. 12, $1.36 billion), baseball player Alex Rodriguez (No. 20, $775 million), football player Tom Brady (No. 23, $745 million) and Mixed martial arts athlete Conor McGregor (ranked 50th, earnings $555 million).

The threshold to enter the top 50 is $555 million, up from $510 million last year. Thirty-one of the 50 athletes are Americans, and active athletes make up 40 percent of the roster. Serena Williams is the only woman to rank among the top earners, while Maria Sharapova trails slightly behind. Williams retired in 2022, but her endorsement lineup grew during the second half of her career to include Nike, AT&T, Beats, Ford Motor, Gatorade and Subway. She also earned $95 million in prize money, more than twice as much as any female athlete in any sport.