The highest paid sports in the world
Football pays the biggest salary in sport. Cristiano Ronaldo earns £156,000,000 a year at Al-Nassr Football Club, 2.8 times what Max Verstappen is paid as the best-paid name in Formula 1, and more than the top salary in the NBA, the NFL, MLB, the NHL and the IPL put together. Below him the order changes: Sadio Mané, the next best paid footballer at £32,500,000, would rank fifth, behind the top salaries in Formula 1, the NBA, the NFL and MLB.
Every figure below is a year's pay, in one currency, so the columns can be read against each other. Boxing, tennis, golf and MMA pay purses rather than a wage, and are counted apart from the salaries further down.
The highest salary in every sport
The most any one athlete is paid in a year. Tap a column heading to re-rank.
| SPORT | ATHLETE | TEAM | SALARY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Football | Cristiano Ronaldo | Al-Nassr Football Club | £156,000,000£156.0m |
| Formula 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | £55,300,000£55.3m |
| NBA | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | £44,817,156£44.8m |
| NFL | Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs | £42,669,173£42.7m |
| MLB | Max Scherzer | Toronto Blue Jays | £32,581,454£32.6m |
| NHL | Mikko Rantanen | Dallas Stars | £9,022,556£9.0m |
| IPL | Rishabh Pant | Lucknow Super Giants | £2,410,714£2.4m |
Every sport's top salary, side by side
With football's next best paid player drawn as a bar of his own
How many footballers out-earn each sport's best
The top salary in every other sport, and the footballers paid more than it
| SPORT | BEST PAID | SALARY | FOOTBALLERS PAID MORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula 1 | Max Verstappen | £55,300,000£55.3m | 1 |
| NBA | Stephen Curry | £44,817,156£44.8m | 1 |
| NFL | Patrick Mahomes | £42,669,173£42.7m | 1 |
| MLB | Max Scherzer | £32,581,454£32.6m | 1 |
| NHL | Mikko Rantanen | £9,022,556£9.0m | 120 |
| IPL | Rishabh Pant | £2,410,714£2.4m | 915 |
Football's lead at the very top is one contract wide. The sport's depth shows further down: we hold 120 footballers on more than the best paid player in the NHL, and 915 on more than the top salary in the IPL.
The highest salary in every football league
The best paid player in each league, in the 2026/27 season
| LEAGUE | PLAYER | CLUB | SALARY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Pro League | Cristiano Ronaldo | Al-Nassr Football Club | £156,000,000£156.0m |
| La Liga | Kylian Mbappé | Real Madrid | £25,844,000£25.8m |
| Premier League | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | £23,400,000£23.4m |
| Süper Lig | Victor Osimhen | Galatasaray A.Ş. | £22,672,000£22.7m |
| Major League Soccer | Robert Lewandowski | Chicago Fire FC | £22,464,000£22.5m |
| Bundesliga | Jamal Musiala | FC Bayern München | £21,528,000£21.5m |
| Ligue 1 | Ousmane Dembélé | Paris Saint-Germain | £17,264,000£17.3m |
| Primeira Liga | Jhon Durán | Sport Lisboa e Benfica | £15,600,000£15.6m |
| Serie A | Lautaro Martínez | Inter Milan | £14,404,000£14.4m |
| Eredivisie | Marc-André ter Stegen | AFC Ajax | £12,064,000£12.1m |
| Championship | Kalvin Phillips | Sheffield United | £8,580,000£8.6m |
| La Liga 2 | Álvaro Morata | Leganés | £7,176,000£7.2m |
The sports that pay prize money
Boxing, tennis, golf and MMA pay purses rather than a wage, so the period each figure covers is named
| SPORT | ATHLETE | PERIOD | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boxing | Floyd Mayweather Jr | Whole career | £752,255,639£752.3m |
| Tennis | Novak Djokovic | Whole career | £146,358,511£146.4m |
| Golf | Scottie Scheffler | One season | £17,738,603£17.7m |
| MMA | Conor McGregor | Whole career | £8,912,782£8.9m |
For the same money added up by country, across golf, tennis, athletics and five more sports, see prize money by nation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest paid sport in the world?
Football. Cristiano Ronaldo earns £156,000,000 a year at Al-Nassr Football Club, 2.8 times the highest salary in Formula 1, where Max Verstappen earns £55,300,000, and more than the top salary in the NBA, the NFL, MLB, the NHL and the IPL put together.
Who is the highest paid athlete in the world?
Cristiano Ronaldo, on £156,000,000 a year at Al-Nassr Football Club. The next best paid athlete on a salary is Max Verstappen in Formula 1, on £55,300,000.
Which American sport pays the most?
The NBA. Stephen Curry earns £44,817,156 a year at Golden State Warriors. The top salary in the NFL, MLB and the NHL is £42,669,173 for Patrick Mahomes, £32,581,454 for Max Scherzer and £9,022,556 for Mikko Rantanen, in that order.
Which sport has the highest paid players?
Football: Cristiano Ronaldo, £156,000,000 a year. Formula 1: Max Verstappen, £55,300,000 a year. NBA: Stephen Curry, £44,817,156 a year. NFL: Patrick Mahomes, £42,669,173 a year. MLB: Max Scherzer, £32,581,454 a year. NHL: Mikko Rantanen, £9,022,556 a year. IPL: Rishabh Pant, £2,410,714 a year.
Which football league pays the most?
Saudi Pro League. Cristiano Ronaldo earns £156,000,000 a year at Al-Nassr Football Club, against £25,844,000 for Kylian Mbappé, the best paid player in La Liga. The gap between the top two football leagues is wider than the gap between most sports.
Where do boxing, tennis, golf and MMA fit in?
Their money is won rather than paid, so it is counted apart from the salaries. Floyd Mayweather Jr has won £752,255,639 over a whole career in boxing. Novak Djokovic has won £146,358,511 over a whole career in tennis. Scottie Scheffler has won £17,738,603 in a single season of golf. Conor McGregor has won £8,912,782 over a whole career in MMA.
Where to next
Every sport's own ranking
For football league by league, see the highest paid Premier League players and the highest paid players in the Saudi Pro League, where most of football's top salaries now sit. For the other sports, start at Formula 1, the NBA, the NFL, MLB, the NHL and the IPL. For the sports that pay purses, see prize money by nation, and for rugby, where each competition caps what a club can pay, see rugby salary caps compared.