In The Dough: Ronaldo ($300M) Again Tops List Of Highest Paid Athletes
Friday, May 22, 2026 at 05:00PM By Barry Janoff
Photo: Al-NassrMay 22, 2026: Pro athletes continue to compete, and as they do they continue to make money. Some just make a lot more than others.
And soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo continues to make the most.
Ronaldo's earnings over the past year includes some $235 million on the field from his Al-Nassr contract and $65 million from endorsements and business ventures, according to a just-released study of the "World’s Highest Paid Athletes' from Forbes.
This ties the record for the highest single-year earnings by an active athlete in Forbes’ history.
In addition, Ronaldo joins Michael Jordan for the second-most No. 1 finishes (six times) on the list, behind only Tiger Woods (11 times).
Ronaldo outpaced the No. 2 athlete on this year’s Forbes list by $130 million, boxer Canelo Álvarez, who took in an estimated $170 million, all but $10 million from fight purses.
Lionel Messi of MLS Inter Miami was No. 3 at $140 million.
At No. 4. LeBron James of the Los Angels Lakers led all NBA players at $137.8 million.
Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani was No. 5, leading all MLB players with $127.6 million.
At No. 13. Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys leads all NFL players ($86.4 million).
Forbes tracked income earned between May 1, 2025, and May 1, 2026,
The world’s Top 50 highest-paid athletes earned a collective $4.1 billion (before taxes and agent fees this year).
Off-field earnings for the 50 reached a new high of $1.1 billion, while on-field earnings totaled $3 billion.
Ten athletes earned at least $100 million each, a record for Forbes.
Top 20 Highest Paid Athletes
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer) $300M ($235M on-field, $65M off-field)
2. Canelo Álvarez (Boxing) $170M
3. Lionel Messi (MLS) $140M ($70M on-field, $70M off-field)
4. LeBron James (NBA) $137.8M
5. Shohei Ohtani (MLB) $127.6M
6. Stephen Curry (NBA) $124.7M
7. Jon Rahm (Golf) $107M
8. Karim Benzema (Soccer) $104M
9. Kevin Durant (NBA) $103.8M
10. Lewis Hamilton (Auto Racing) $100M
11. Giannis Antetokounmpo (NBA) $99.2M
12. Kylian Mbappé (Soccer) $95M
13. Micah Parsons (NFL) $86.4M
14. Max Verstappen (Auto Racing) $86M
15. Patrick Mahomes (NFL) $84.7M
16. Scottie Scheffler (Golf) $84.6M
17. Brock Purdy (NFL) $83.1M
18. Jayson Tatum (NBA) $82.2M
19. Erling Haaland (Soccer) $80M
20. Rory McIlroy (Golf) $76.4M
Source: Forbes
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