With Black History Month drawing to a close, the time has come to discuss the Highest Paid Athletes 2025 and how record-breaking earnings have been earned by them.
For athletes, being at the top of sports is not only a matter of talent but of persevering against a systemic barrier that for long times existed in the industry. Black athletes have had to face issues such as fewer opportunities in the first place, to endorsement disparities, to disparities concerning leadership positions.
Top 10 Highest Paid Athletes in 2025
| Rank | Athlete | Sport | 2025 Earnings (USD) | Major Income Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Football (Al-Nassr) | $275 Million | Al-Nassr salary, business ventures, sponsorships |
| 2 | Stephen Curry | Basketball (NBA) | $156 Million | Under Armour deal, salary, endorsements, sports brands |
| 3 | Tyson Fury | Boxing | $146 Million | Fight purses, Netflix series, tourism promotion |
| 4 | Dak Prescott | Football (NFL) | $137 Million | NFL contract, signing bonus |
| 5 | Lionel Messi | Football (MLS) | $135 Million | MLS salary, Adidas, MAS+ drink, 525 Rosario |
| 6 | LeBron James | Basketball (NBA) | $133.8 Million | Endorsements, Lobos 1707, Mattel, investments |
| 7 | Juan Soto | Baseball (MLB) | $114 Million | Mets contract, endorsements (Celsius, Call of Duty) |
| 8 | Karim Benzema | Football (Saudi Pro) | $104 Million | Al-Ittihad salary, Adidas, possible MLS move |
| 9 | Shohei Ohtani | Baseball (MLB) | $102.5 Million | Deferred contract, postseason bonus, endorsements |
| 10 | Kevin Durant | Basketball (NBA) | $101.4 Million | Boardroom, PSG stake, NBA salary, Fanatics deal |
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – $275M
Chritiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest paid athlete for the 3 year in row and five time in generally. And now at 40 he is indeed on another height. In the last year including the pain salary as for the arabia’s Al Naser and and earning from his own business Ronaldo has made close to $275 million before taxes and agent fees is stands among the third best year.
The only athlete who earned is Boxer Floyd Mayweather, who was paid $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018. In term of 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo top the list and is 119 million dollar of Stephin Curry of the golden state warrior, who is second on the list.
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2. Stephin Curry – $156M
In the year 2023, Curry as struck a life long deal that continued his sneaker contract as ambassador for Under Armour beyond his playing career, with a step- up in salary not even counting the 75 dollar in stock option he is slated to vest in 2029 and 2034. On the court, Golden State Warriors guard is putting up plenty of other shots. In March he became the first member in NBA history to sink 4000 career 3- pointers. The court he has gone into Nirvana water invested in a fladgling women’s basketball league called unrivaled, launched a sports drink brand called Plezi hydration for former first lady Michelle Obama, and accepted the role of assistant general Manager call basketball program at his Alma mater Davidson College.
3. Tyson Fury – $146M
Fury’s enormous earning may lesson in part his physical and emotional suffering. After being undefeated for straight 35 years, the charismatic heavyweight champ lost his WBC title in split decision last May against Oleksandr Usyk and then took a unanimous decision loss to him again last December. Then after a month Fury announced that he was going to retire at the age of 36 on social media, though such announcements have been tempered somewhat by his multiple retirement announcements in the time of his career.
Outside the ring Gypsy King has an agreement to promote tourism in Malta where he held a tourist camp for the second fight against Usyk, and he also has a Netflix show called At Home with the Fury.
4. Dak Prescott – $137M
A four year 240 million dollar pact with the Cowboys in September Prescott earned 2 NFL records,one for the most average guaranteed money with 60 million dollars and one for the most guaranteed money with 231 million dollars. This also marked the largest signing bonus to be given upfront to be NFL up until that time with his 80 million dollars being staggering. However, this is something about the calendar date and the salary payment method of the NFL that placed it so high in the highest paid athlete in the word.
5. Lionel Messi-$135M
No male athlete in the world means more to his league 10 Lionel Messi does two Major league Soccer games which revenue and revolution of the team spiking because of the “Messi effect”.
Depending on his lucrative income, Messi endorses Adidas which in October launched a footwear collaboration with the soccer star and musician Bad Bunny. In September, he also set up a production outfit named 525 Rosario to pursue, among several projects, a sci-fi animated show about a 12-year-old Leo. He also revealed last year that he would go on to launch his own sports drink called Mas+. The brand Mas+ has been under enormous pressure from Prime Hydration of Logan Paul for some similarities in the bottle design.
6. LeBron James-$133.8M
After his 22nd NBA season got over with the Los Angeles Lakers getting booted out in the first round of the playoffs, and with James facing the decision of player option number $52.6 million for 2025-26, the 40-year-old star had a very cryptic statement floating on the possibility of retirement. “I’ll probably take some vacation time with the family and see what this next journey looks like,” the oldest player in the league said recently on Mind the Game. Whenever he decides to hang his sneakers, however, this 21-time All-Star will already be the proud owner of a business empire.
James also is an investor in the tequila-maker Lobos 1707 which sold a majority stake this year to spirits giant Diageo in a deal for the brand rights to Cîroc vodka. James’ more traditional partnerships include a deal with Mattel for the first-ever professional athlete Ken doll made in his likeness.
7. Juan Soto-$114M
Before turning 26 years old, Soto had won five Segunda Calavera awards and thus was naturally destined to sign a megadeal on-the-field contract in his time, so the $765 million, 15-year contract he signed with the New York Mets in December was pretty much in casual affront to the extremely high expectations imposed on him. (There was only one other contract in the sport worth more than half a billion at the time, which was Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700-million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, with almost all of the money deferred by more than a decade except for $20 million.)
And those endorsement deals still exist, including one with Celsius energy drinks, Call of Duty, Banreservas bank and Presidente beer, all based in his native Dominican Republic.
8. Karim Benzema-$104M
Benzema emulated his former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo by moving to Saudi Arabia in 2023, securing a pretty hefty pay raise to join Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League. However, the rumor mill has it that the French striker could follow in the footsteps of Lionel Messi, Ronaldo’s main rival.Away from the field, Benzema largely keeps out of public attention, with a small group of companies under his sponsorship umbrella, Adidas being one of the more prominent brands.Recently, the New York Post cited anonymous sources close to Benzema, who just a couple of years away from being named the best male soccer player in the world, having won the Ballon d’Or in 2022, stating that he was prepping for a move to MLS ahead of the 2026 World Cup scheduled to be held in North America.
9. Shohie Ohtani-$102.5M
Having deferred all but $2 million in annual salary from the Dodgers’ mega-contract—he’s slated to be paid $68 million in 2034 and thereafter—the World Series run last year gave him a disproportionately large windfall. MLB players receive shares of a postseason bonus pool depending on how far their team goes, so Ohtani ended up with both stones-and-diamonds-in-sapphire-tinted-LA Dodgers-blue championship rings and another paycheck worth a reported $477,441.
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10. Kevin Durant-$101.4M
With one more year left on a contract of $54.7 million, this 15-time All-Star has earned several other titles, including that of Olympic gold medalist in Paris last summer, where he became Team USA’s all-time leading scorer at the Summer Games. In August, he bought a minority stake in Paris Saint-Germain through the investment fund Arctos Sports Partners and has since put money into a sports apparel company called Homage. On the other side, Durant’s media firm, Boardroom, just launched premium memberships and partnered with Fanatics to provide a professional development program for athletes. Durant will feature in Season 2 of the Netflix docuseries Starting 5, which is slated to debut later this year.
Top athletes have never been simply entrants into professional sports-they are the very tonic for the game’s evolution. Their worth and notoriety ears undyingly grasp the essence of redefining beauty. Names on this list can fade down the notion of super-high earning from simple testimonials of what happens when talent and opportunity get in conjunction with hard work.
