The highest paid athletes of all time have been revealed — and Michael Jordan is in rare air.
Jordan, 62, topped Sportico’s list, released on Tuesday, April 22, with career inflation-adjusted earnings of $4.15 billion. The basketball icon has made $1.36 billion more than Tiger Woods, who comes in at No. 2.
Sportico reported that Jordan made $300 million in 2024 alone, thanks in large part to his Nike partnership. Jordan still receives royalties on every pair of Air Jordan shoes sold. Last year, Nike reported Jordan sales of $7 billion, up 6% from the prior year.
Jordan also maintains endorsement relationships with Gatorade, Five Star, Upper Deck and 2K, and remains a team owner in the 23XI Racing NASCAR team.
The list was compiled using salaries, bonuses, prize money, purses, endorsements, licensing, royalties, memorabilia, book deals, media, appearance fees and golf course design fees.
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and soccer star Lionel Messi round out the top 5, with earnings of $2.23 billion, $1.88 billion and $1.85 billion, respectively.
The top 50 features representatives from eight different sports and 16 different countries. Retired tennis star Serena Willams is the only woman on the list, coming in at No. 40 with $660 million in career earnings.
Sportico noted that Williams’ sister, Venus Williams, and fellow tennis star Maria Sharapova cracked the top 100, the only other women listed.
Other notable names on the list include David Beckham (No. 8, $1.61 billion), Kobe Bryant (No. 16, $1.11 billion), Stephen Curry (No. 20, $950 million), Tom Brady (No. 21, $820 million), Rory McIlroy (No. 24, $770 million), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 38, $665 million), Aaron Rodgers (No. 45, $620 million) and Dwyane Wade (No. 48, $585 million).
The list also factors in “cash earned from equity stakes in sponsor companies when those companies were sold,” Sportico explained.
“Such as LeBron James’ stake in Beats Electronics and James Harden’s shares of BodyArmor,” the company continued. “Also factored in was Lionel Messi’s piece of Inter Miami as part of his agreement to join the MLS club, and the equity payments by Authentic Brands Group to secure marketing rights for David Beckham and Shaquille O’Neal.”
In addition to late NBA star Bryant, the list includes deceased athletes Arnold Palmer (No. 6, $1.82 billion) and George Foreman (No. 27, $730 million). In those cases, earnings were calculated up until the time of their deaths in September 2016 and March 2025, respectively.
