Being a pro athlete can mint one millions if they are in the right sport.
A lot of countries are spending billions of dollars to have the best players and team to compete at numerous major sports events put together by organizers just like the Olympics, where numerous countries send out their best athletes to participate and represent the country. With this in mind, it is safe to say that the best athletes earn the most, and according to Forbes, the combined money earned in 2021 alone by the top 50 athletes is around $2.8 billion.
This makes the sports lucrative which makes the athletes more determined to be the best in their field. It is perhaps a dream come true once an amateur athlete turned professional; however this dream entails a lot of hard work, effort, perseverance and huge amount of talent. Making money off a sports career is easy if you are among the best player, and if you are dreaming for your kids to be wealthy by playing some sports, listed below are the highest paying sports in the world.
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9 Cycling
Cycling is a highly competitive sport in terms of physical endurance. One should note that there are numerous categories to cycling including time trialing, cyclo-cross, road bicycle racing, track cycling, BMX, mountain bike racing and cycle speedway. Aside from the racing categories, there are also non-racing sports such as cycle polo, freestyle BMX, artistic cycling and mountain bike trials. In a span of one calendar year, there are about fifteen cycling competitions, which will test the endurance of the athlete. Although it might be included in the least, it does not pay much; most of the cyclists get most of their money from endorsements and brand deals. It was reported that the legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong has about $50 million of net worth. The highest earning cyclist for the current season has reportedly took home around $5.3 million per season.
8 Hockey
Dubbed as the fastest game on earth by the players themselves, Hockey takes the ninth spot of the highest paid sport in 2022. They are paid generously; after all, the skaters do run on ice with a vulcanized rubber puck. Hockey players are among the richest athletes in the world. Forbes has reported that the highest earning player for the National Hockey League for the 2022 season is American professional ice hockey center and alternate captain Auston Matthews who made about $13 million salary for the year. He also earned additional $3 million for his endorsements and brand deals.
7 Auto Racing
Across the USA and European region, auto racing is considered to be among the most popular sport. Not only it is an exciting game, it is probably the most dangerous sports in the world with the players risking their lives every time they compete. Suffice to say, it is only fair that they are paid massively. The highest amount paid racer is Lewis Hamilton who has earned an estimated amount of $40 million in salary.
6 Baseball
Baseball is probably the most played games in the United States which is why it is not surprising that the sports is among the highest paying sports in the world. Major League Baseball or MLB is known as the biggest and most popular baseball league across the world. A lot of MLB players have been featured numerous times on the Forbes list among the richest athletes in the world. The richest baseball player in the world is American former professional Alex Rodriguez who currently has a net worth of $400 million. According to Forbes, New York Mets' new ace Max Scherzer is the highest paid baseball athlete today with $43 million salary from 2022 alone.
5 Golf
Golf may be one of the hardest sports in the world, although it is said to be among the easiest to learn, the sports need precision and perfection to win. Golf was initially played around the 15th century however it only gained traction in the 17th century across the U.S. and Europe. It was reported that the highest earning golf player is American professional golfer Tiger Woods who has made about $50 million from his annual salary alone.
4 Soccer
Soccer is also regarded as among the most demanding sports in the world yet it is also very popular. Soccer players are known for their excessiveness since they often have huge salaries and contracts. They are also among the most sought after endorsers in the world, and most of the time, soccer players earn more from their endorsements than their salaries from the sports. The highest paid soccer player is Cristiano Ronaldo with $70 million annual salary, but overall, he made about $125 million from various deals and contracts.
3 Tennis
Seen as among the most popular recreational sports played across the world, Tennis players are also generously paid. Skilled Tennis players are included in the top athletes who earned the most worldwide. Although the stamina needed to play tennis is inexhaustible, studies show that tennis is the second most demanding sports in the world. The legendary tennis player Roger Federer is the highest paid tennis player for the year 2022 and he reportedly earned $90 million last year.
2 Boxing
It is not surprising that Boxing is the second highest paying sports in the world. Although it includes a noble art of self-defense, it is also very dangerous sports and for this reason, boxers are being paid generously. There are numerous boxers who have made millions and even billions off the sport and it was reported that the highest paid boxer is Anthony Joshua who earns $25 million guaranteed purse money per fight and it was reported that he made a total of $65 million from his most recent fight.
1 Basketball
When it comes to the most popular sports, no one can argue that Basketball is indeed the most popular sports in the world. For this reason, it is also not surprising that basketball players are among the highest paid athletes in the world with million dollar worth of contract for each team. The National Basketball Association composed of about thirty teams and hundreds of players are playing in the court each season. The highest paid basketball player today is Stephen Curry with earnings of $92.3 million in a year.
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Sources: Sports Browser, Teal Mango, World Scholarship Forum
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FAQs
What sport makes the most money in America 2022? ›
Which sport has the highest salary? The NBA. With each player taking home a handsome 8.32 million U.S. dollars every year, the NBA is the professional sports league with the highest player wages worldwide.
Who is the highest paid athlete in the world 2023? ›Which athlete has highest contract In 2023? The biggest sports contract of all time, worth an estimated 674 million U.S. dollars, belonged to soccer star Lionel Messi.
What is the most popular sport in the world in 2022? ›Football/Soccer
Soccer, also known as association football, is by far the most popular sport in the world, despite the fact that it may not be obvious in the United States. Soccer is the most popular sport in practically all of Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East, Central America, and Asia.
- The highest paying jobs in the U.S. are all in medicine, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Chief executives and airline pilots are also among the highest paid professions.
East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) rookies earn a minimum of $415 per week and veterans make $460 per week over the course of a 72-game regular season, which comes out to less than $24,000 for the year.
Who is the highest paid NFL player? ›The Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers leads the list, at $50.3 million per year. The Denver Broncos' Russell Wilson is second, at $49 million per season, with the Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray at $46.1 million.
What is the richest sport in USA? ›Ans. Football, Tennis, Baseball, Boxing, Cricket, Ice Hockey, Golf and motor sports are among the richest sports in the world. With a net worth of about $600 billion, football is the richest sport on the planet and is one of the most popular sports in the United States, with between 390 and 410 million fans worldwide.
Who is #1 paid athlete 2022? ›Cristiano Ronaldo, the winner of five Ballon d'Or awards, had a $60 million deal with Manchester United before the Premier League club canceled it during the FIFA World Cup 2022 break. The 37-year-old Ronaldo has more social media followers than any other athlete, and he earns a fortune from his online profiles.
Who is the highest paid retired athlete? ›After playing a total of 15 seasons in the NBA, playing for both the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards, there's no surprise that Michael Jordan is the richest athlete in the world.
What athlete has the highest paid contract? ›What is the 5 most popular sport in the world? ›
- NFL. Fans: 400 million. Outside of the U.S., this sport has limited following. ...
- Basketball. Fans: 400 million. ...
- Golf. Fans: 450 million. ...
- Baseball. Fans: 500 million. ...
- Table Tennis. Fans: 850 million. ...
- Volleyball. Fans: 900 million. ...
- Tennis. Fans: 1 billion. ...
- Field Hockey. Fans: 2.2 billion.
- Randy Johnson – $115 Million.
- Ryan Howard – $120 Million.
- Zack Greinke – $120 Million.
- Miguel Cabrera – $125 Million.
- Albert Pujols – $170 Million.
- Ichiro Suzuki – $180 Million.
- Derek Jeter – $200 Million.
- Alex Rodriguez – $350 Million.
In 2021, the NBA minimum was $898,000, the NFL minimum was $660,000 and MLB's minimum was $570,500. The NBA minimum is now 157% of the MLB minimum and the NFL minimum is 116%.
Who has the richest MLB contract? ›- Julio Rodríguez , CF, Mariners: 13 years, $210 million (2023-35)
- Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, Padres: 14 years, $340 million (2021-34)
- Manny Machado, 3B, Padres: 11 years, $350 million (2023-33)
- Rafael Devers, 3B, Red Sox: 11 years, $331 million (2023-33)
- Investment banker.
- Certified public accountant.
- Entrepreneur.
- Day trader.
- Real estate agent.
- Engineer.
- Lawyer.
- Actuary.
- Dental Hygienist.
- Physical Therapist.
- Radiation Therapist.
- Optometrist.
- Human Resources Manager.
- #1. Software Developer.
- #2. Nurse Practitioner.
- #3. Medical and Health Services Manager.
- Volleyball.
- Table Tennis/Ping Pong.
- Running.
- Spikeball.
- Badminton.
- Cycling.
- Bowling.
Soccer is the easiest sport to bet and make money on according to the experts. Here are some key things to keep in mind in order to make money betting on soccer. Soccer is the world's most popular sport.
Who is the highest paid NFL coach? ›Bill Belichick, $20 million
With six Super Bowl rings and 23 years of tenure with the New England Patriots, it makes sense that Belichick is the highest-paid coach. He also makes personnel decisions for the Patriots, including the draft, free agency and trades.
Who is highest paid NFL quarterback? ›
- Aaron Rodgers. GB, QB. $59,515,000.
- Daniel Jones. NYG, QB. $46,000,000.
- Deshaun Watson. CLE, QB. $46,000,000.
- Patrick Mahomes. KC, QB. $40,450,000.
- Kyler Murray. ARI, QB. $39,000,000.
The NFL won't disclose how much money their referees make, but based on the expired collective bargaining agreement from 2019, officials made an average of $201,000 per year, according to Money.com. That accounts for all officials that appear on the field, which means the head referees for games could make even more.
What is a rich man's sport? ›Polo remains the rich man's game. To the untrained eye, it looks like a blend of hockey and golf played by people on horseback.
What's the most expensive sport for kids? ›What sport is most expensive to play for children? According to data from the Aspen Institute of Play and the Utah State University's Families in Sports Lab, the most expensive kids' sport is ice hockey.
Do billionaires watch sports? ›But of course there are fun and games: The second most popular hobby among billionaires is sports (53.6% of billionaires with $5 billion plus say its an interest, passion or hobby of theirs, as do 42% of billionaires that have $1 billion to $5 billion), and as sports go, overall, golf reigns supreme.
Who was the 1st billionaire? ›The American business magazine Forbes produces a global list of known U.S. dollar billionaires every year and updates an Internet version of this list in real-time. The American oil magnate John D. Rockefeller became the world's first confirmed U.S. dollar billionaire in 1916.
What is the 3 most popular sport in America? ›- American Football – 74.5% American football takes the crown when it comes to popularity, and this is the most-watched sport in the US. ...
- Basketball- 56.6% ...
- Baseball- 50.5% ...
- Boxing- 23.4% ...
- Ice Hockey- 22.1% ...
- Soccer- 21.6% ...
- Golf- 19.7%
Historically, the national sport has been baseball. However, in more recent decades, American football has been the most popular sport in terms of broadcast viewership audience.
Who is the highest paid female athlete? ›Naomi Osaka once again tops the list of the highest-paid female athletes in the world, bringing in $51.1 million in 2022, according to Forbes. She's followed by Serena Williams, who earned $41.3 million.
Who has the highest paid athletes 2022 contract? ›Highest value global sports contracts 2022
The biggest sports contract of all time, worth an estimated 674 million U.S. dollars, belonged to soccer star Lionel Messi.
Which sport has the best pension? ›
Major League Baseball has the best pension program in all of sports. A big-league player needs just 43 days of service to qualify for a pension benefit. Forty-three days of service can guarantee an MLB player a $34,000 per year pension benefit.
What athletes are worth $1 billion? ›Forbes: Tiger Woods becomes billionaire, joining LeBron James and Michael Jordan. Tiger Woods now has an estimated net worth of at least $1 billion, according to Forbes. He joins LeBron James and Michael Jordan as the only athletes to reach the mark.
Who is the #1 paid athlete? ›| 2022 Rank | Athlete | Salary/Winnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LeBron James | $36.9M |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | $72M |
| 3 | Cristiano Ronaldo | $60M |
| 4 | Neymar | $65M |
The NFL's First 100 Million Dollar Man. On March 1, 2001, Brett Favre signed a "lifetime" contract extension, a 10-year deal worth $100 million with the Green Bay Packers.
Who are the 3 highest paid athletes? ›...
Over a billion dollars to just 10 stars: Highest-paid athletes of 2022 revealed
- Lionel Messi – Football – $A190m.
- LeBron James – Basketball – $A178m. ...
- Cristiano Ronaldo – Football – $A169m. ...
Running back Stephen Davis' new deal with Washington is the first in league history to have a maximum value of more than $100 million, although realistically it is worth much less.
Who has a 200 million dollar contract in the NFL? ›The key point that will be discussed by media, fans and even Rodgers' teammates: He will be the first NFL player to earn a $75 million signing bonus and over $125 million in guaranteed money. The total contract will be for $200 million.
Who is the only billionaire in football? ›The tag of the richest footballer in the world on the basis of net worth belongs to Faiq Bolkiah who is the son of the Prince of Brunei Jefri Bolkiah. As such, he is the heir to a net worth of over $20 billion, making him by far, the richest footballer on the planet.
Who is the highest paid player in the world? ›As of December 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo had the highest salary out of any soccer player worldwide, earning an estimated 200 million U.S. dollars a year with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi earned around 65 million U.S. dollars a year, as well as 55 million U.S. dollars in off-field income.
What sport gets the most injuries? ›Believe it or not, basketball actually has more injuries than any other sport, followed by football, soccer and baseball. Common sports injuries include hamstring strains, groin pulls, shin splints, ACL tears and concussions.
Who is the highest paid MLB player? ›
Aaron Judge, outfielder, New York Yankees
Aaron Judge is the highest paid position player in MLB history. Judge signed a nine-year, $360 million contract with the New York Yankees, making baseball history in a variety of ways.
While basketball players make the most money collectively and some soccer players make huge amounts individually, neither athlete actually makes the most money per game.
Who is the top 10 richest player? ›- Neymar (Net Worth) - $200 million.
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Net Worth) - $190 million. ...
- Wayne Rooney (Net Worth) - $170 million. ...
- Ronaldo (Net Worth) - $160 million. ...
- Alexandre Pato (Net Worth) - $150 million. ...
| Rank | Name | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | $127 million |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | $109 million |
| 3 | Neymar | $105 million |
| 4 | Canelo Álvarez | $94 million |
Sports with the highest rates of injury
The number of people injured while playing football is declining, but football is still the most dangerous sport by far. We found that people were three to four times more likely to be injured playing football than in other sports.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in sports are usually a result of physical contact with another person or stationary object, These sports may include boxing, gridiron football, field/ice hockey, lacrosse, martial arts, rugby, soccer, wrestling, auto racing, cycling, equestrian, rollerblading, skateboarding, skiing or ...
What's the safest sport? ›Swimming is the safest sport to take part in. Its easy on the joints and can be an aid in recovery after an injury so making it the safest sport in America.
Who was the 1st million dollar baseball player? ›Nolan Ryan becomes baseball's first million dollar man | Baseball Hall of Fame.
How much do MLB Waterboys make a year? ›Waterboy - Thanks to Adam Sandler almost everyone knows what a waterboy is. Even though the role itself is sometimes forgotten, they still get paid an average of $53,000 and on top of that have an amazing view of any NFL game.
Who is the richest MLB team? ›The latest ranking reported that the New York Yankees is the most valuable MLB franchise after the 2021 MLB season.
Who is the richest NBA player? ›
LeBron James Net Worth - $1 Billion
LeBron entered the NBA at age 18, and has made over $430 million in his career to this point. He's under contract through the 2022-23 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, and has a shoe deal believed to be worth over $1 billion with Nike.
...
It Pays to Play Basketball.
| ranking | sport | total points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basketball | 305.0 |
| 2 | Boxing | 249.5 |
| 3 | Auto Racing | 207.5 |
| 4 | Golf | 191.5 |
With 3.5 billion fans around the world, soccer is the one sport that pretty much the whole world can agree upon can be claimed the most viewed sports in the world.