The World's Highest Paid Athletes List 2017
Below is the top 10 of the highest earning sports people for 2017, taken from the annual list “The World's 100 Highest-Paid Athletes” published by Forbes magazine in June 2017.
The top earner for this year is Real Madrid and Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, the same as last year. His earnings have increased from 88 to 93 million USD. The top five placed athletes were also in the top five last year.
The earnings totals (in US dollars) are derived from salaries, bonuses, prize money, appearance fees, licensing and endorsement income in the 12 months from May 1, 2016 to May 1, 2017. Taxes or agents' fees are not factored into the figures. See also the Forbes top earning lists from other years.
Top-10 Highest Earning Sports people from 2017
| Rank | Name | Sport | Nationality | Earnings ($ million) | Previous Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Soccer | Portugal | 93.0 | 1 |
| 2 | LeBron James | Basketball | USA | 86.2 | 3 |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | Soccer | Argentina | 80 | 2 |
| 4 | Roger Federer | Tennis | Switzerland | 64 | 4 |
| 5 | Kevin Durant | Basketball | USA | 60.6 | 5 |
| =6 | Andrew Luck | American Football | USA | 50 | |
| =6 | Rory McIlroy | Golf | Northern Ireland | 50 | 17 |
| 8 | Stephen Curry | Basketball | USA | 47.3 | |
| 9 | James Harden | Basketball | USA | 46.6 | |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton | auto racing | UK | 46 |
Next on the list were: Drew Brees, Phil Mickelson, Russell Westbrook, Sebastian Vettel, Damian Lillard, Novak Djokovic, Tiger Woods, Neymar, Dwyane Wade, Fernando Alonso.
Highest Ranked For Each Sport in 2017
The highest ranked from each sport is listed below. After Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao filled the top two positions in 2015, the top-ranked boxer was Canelo Alvarez at just 43rd.
| Sport | Overall Rank | Name | earning ($ million) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soccer | 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 93 |
| Basketball | 2 | LeBron James | 86.2 |
| Tennis | 4 | Roger Federer | 64 |
| American Football | =6 | Andrew Luck | 50 |
| Golf | =6 | Rory McIlroy | 50 |
| Auto Racing | 10 | Lewis Hamilton | 46.0 |
| Track and Field | 23 | Usain Bolt | 34.2 |
| MMA | 24 | Conner McGregor | 34 |
| Baseball | 28 | Clayton Kershaw | 33.3 |
| Boxing | 43 | Canelo Alvarez | 28.5 |
| Cricket | 89 | Virat Kohli | 22 |
source: from “The World's 100 Highest-Paid Athletes” published by Forbes magazine in May 2017.
Related Pages
- See the top earning lists from other years.
- highlights of world sport in 2017
- Other world sport lists
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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