Athletes earn millions and millions of dollars these days as they entertain the masses with their unbelievable skills in the various fields that they excel. In cricket there is Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and the likes, in Basketball there is Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and the list goes on, in Football there is Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, among others, while in Tennis there is Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray etc etc.
All of these superstars earn in millions, however, it is the best or the most popular ones in each sport that earns more than the rest.
Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli is the only cricketer on the list ranked 89th, with an annual earning of $22 million.
And here we take a look at the 5 highest paid athletes in the world according to Forbes’ annual list.
#5 Kevin Durant – $60.6 million
The Golden State Warriors superstar has featured in the top 5 highest-paid athletes in the world for the second straight year. After helping the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Conference Finals in 2016, Durant moved to the Oracle Arena outfit on a two-year $54.3 million contract.
The 28-year-old combined with the three other All-Stars of the Warriors, namely – Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson – to usher the ‘Fantastic Four’ era. Currently, the Warriors are competing in the NBA Finals against LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers and hold a 3-0 advantage in the 7-game series.
However, Durant beat his All-Stars teammates to the top 5 having earned $60.6 million in the last 12 months, whereas Curry is the only other out of the ‘Fantastic Four’ to make it into the top 10 with earnings of $47.3 million.
#4 Roger Federer – $64 million
Roger Federer has had a roller-coaster of a last 12 months. After suffering his first major injury in his long and illustrious career, which required him to get operated on his knee, there were qualms if he could ever reach the heights that he had previously scaled. Eyebrows were raised when he lost to Milos Raonic in the semi-finals of the Wimbledon – his first ever in the semi-final of the prestigious tournament.
However, after having missed the Summer Olympics and the remainder of 2016, the Swede bounced back like nobody had expected. Federer reached the final of the 2017 Australian Open, where he met his long-time nemesis Rafael Nadal, who was also making a comeback from injury. The 25-year-old came back from a break down in the final set to beat the Spaniard and win his record-extending 18th Grand Slam title.
Although Federer didn’t play for a large chunk of 2016, he is still the highest-paid Tennis professional in the last 12 months, having earned a staggering $64 million during this period.
#3 Lionel Messi – $80 million
Lionel Messi finished in second position on this list last year but after enduring one of the most difficult 12 months of his life, he has dropped down to third this time around. It hasn’t been the best year for the diminutive Argentine, who lost the Copa America final to Chile – his 3rd loss in the final of a major tournament with Argentina in 3 years.
After that he was pipped to the Ballon d’Or by arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, while Barcelona missed out on the league title to Real Madrid and lost in the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League to Juventus. Messi had a great year on an individual level, finishing as the leading scorer in all of Europe – winning the Golden Shoe Race along with the Pichichi.
All of this, along with his enormous fan following, saw the Argentine rake in $80 million during the past 12 months.
#2 LeBron James – $86.2 million
LeBron James needs no introduction, having established himself as one of the best basketball players to have ever graced the game. The 32-year-old has had an incredible last 12 months during which he broke many records while also writing new ones.
LeBron-led Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals of 2016, where they faced Golden State Warriors – a team which had beaten them in the final only the year before. Early signs pointed at yet another heartbreak for the Cavaliers at the final hurdle as the Warriors took a 3-1 lead in the 7-game series.
However, inspired by the magic of James, the Cavaliers mounted an incredible comeback to stave off elimination before beating the Warriors in the final game to be crowned as the champions. The team had scripted something extraordinary as they became the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit.
After guiding his team to their historic title, the four-time NBA MVP – for the first time in his career – became NBA’s top salary earner as he penned a $100 million three-year long contract with the Cavaliers. He became only the third player in history of NBA to earn in excess of $30 million after Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
His phenomenal 12 months have seen him earn $86.2 million, the second highest among all athletes.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo – $93 million
While LeBron James was busy breaking records, Cristiano Ronaldo was busy scripting history. The last 12 months have probably been the best in the Real Madrid superstar’s entire career. It all started with winning La Undecima with Los Blancos – their 11th European title.
Ronaldo then guided Portugal to the Euro 2016 triumph where Seleccao beat France in the final to lift win their first ever major international honour. Not only that, he then beat arch-rival Lionel Messi to win his 4th Ballon d’Or, while he was also crowned FIFA’s Best Player of 2016.
The Portuguese has since helped Real Madrid win their first La Liga title in 5 years, as they pipped their fierce rivals Barcelona to it, winning it by 3 points. Ronaldo then guided his team to their second successive UEFA Champions League title as they beat Juventus 4-1 in the final with Ronaldo netting two of those goals.
The victory was extra-special as it made Real Madrid the first-team to win UEFA Champions League in consecutive years in its present format. The win also ensured that Ronaldo is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or once again this year, if he does win that it will tie him with Messi on 5 awards.
While scripting history, Ronaldo also raked in a whooping $93 million – making him the highest-paid athlete in the world, for the second consecutive year.
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