Roger Federer topped the annual Forbes list of world's highest-paid athletes with $106.5 million in total earnings.
The Swiss was ranked 5th in 2019 but managed to leapfrog football superstars Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar to occupy the top spot in 2020.
The tennis legend raked $100 million from endorsements and sponsorship and $6.5 million from salary and winnings. His 10 year $300 million deal with Uniqlo signed in 2018 played a huge part in boosting the 38 year old earnings.
Meanwhile, 22 year old tennis star Naomi Osaka, was the highest-paid female athlete of the year taking home $37.4 million.
Below is the full list of highest-paid athletes:
|
|
Highest paid Athletes 2021 |
||
|
|
|
Sport |
Earnings in USD |
|
1 |
Roger
Federer |
Tennis |
$106.5
M |
|
2 |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
Soccer |
$105 M |
|
3 |
Lionel
Messi |
Soccer |
$104
M |
|
4 |
Neymar |
Soccer |
$95.5 M |
|
5 |
Lebron
James |
Basketball |
$88.2
M |
|
6 |
Steph Curry |
Basketball |
$74.4 M |
|
7 |
Kevin
Durant |
Basketball |
$63.9
M |
|
8 |
Tiger Woods |
Golf |
$62.3 M |
|
9 |
Kirk
Cousins |
Football |
$60.5
M |
|
10 |
Carson Wentz |
Football |
$59.1 M |
|
11 |
Tyson
Furry |
Boxing |
$57
M |
|
12 |
Russell Westbrook |
Basketball |
$56 M |
|
13 |
Lewis
Hamilton |
Racing |
$54
M |
|
14 |
Rory Mcllroy |
Golf |
$52 M |
|
15 |
Jared
Goff |
Football |
$49
M |
|
16 |
Conor McGregor |
Mma |
$48 M |
|
17 |
James
Harden |
Basketball |
$47.8
M |
|
18 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo |
Basketball |
$47.6 M |
|
19 |
Anthony
Joshua |
Boxing |
$47
M |
|
20 |
Deontay Wilder |
Boxing |
$46.5 M |
|
21 |
Tom
Brady |
Football |
$45
M |
|
22 |
Drew Brees |
Football |
$44.8 M |
|
23 |
Novak
Djokovic |
Tennis |
$44.6
M |
|
24 |
Kyrie Irving |
Basketball |
$41.9 M |
|
25 |
Phil
Mickelson |
Golf |
$40.8
M |
|
26 |
Julio Jones |
Football |
$40.5 M |
|
27 |
Rafael
Nadal |
Tennis |
$40
M |
|
28 |
Klay Thompson |
Basketball |
$38.8 M |
|
29 |
Naomi
Osaka |
Tennis |
$37.4
M |
|
30 |
Canelo Alvarez |
Boxing |
$37 M |
|
31 |
Damian
Lillard |
Basketball |
$37
M |
|
32 |
Sebastian Vettel |
Racing |
$36.3 M |
|
33 |
Tennis |
$36
M |
|
|
34 |
Mohamed Salah |
Soccer |
$35.1 M |
|
35 |
Chris
Paul |
Basketball |
$35
M |
|
36 |
Kylian Mbappe |
Soccer |
$33.8 M |
|
37 |
Grady
Jarrett |
Football |
$33.1
M |
|
38 |
Paul George |
Basketball |
$32.8 M |
|
39 |
Michael
Thomas |
Football |
$32.4
M |
|
40 |
Kei Nishikori |
Tennis |
$32.1 M |
|
41 |
Blake
Griffin |
Basketball |
$31.9
M |
|
42 |
John Wall |
Basketball |
$31.2 M |
|
43 |
Kawhi
Leonard |
Basketball |
$30.5
M |
|
44 |
Anthony Davis |
Basketball |
$30.4 M |
|
45 |
Aaron
Rodgers |
Football |
$30.1
M |
|
46 |
Andres Iniesta |
Soccer |
$29.6 M |
|
47 |
Matt
Ryan |
Football |
$29.5
M |
|
48 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
Racing |
$29 M |
|
49 |
Mesut
Ozil |
Soccer |
$28.7
M |
|
50 |
Paul Pogba |
Soccer |
$28.5 M |