Cristiano Ronaldo’s record earnings sees him sit above some of the globe’s most recognised athletes following a lucrative contract renewal.
For a third consecutive year, Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid athlete in the world after making $260m in 2025.
The Portuguese football icon tops Sportico’s annual highest-paid athlete ranking for the third year in a row after earning $200m from his contract with Saudi football club Al-Nassr, while making $60m in commercial endorsements.
Ronaldo renewed his Al-Nassr contract until 2027, becoming a catalyst for the wave of European football tale not joining the Saudi Pro League since his arrival in January 2023.
At the time, it was reported the value of the contract was worth over $200m per year, along with a $28.7m signing bonus and a $38.6m player option to opt into a second season with the Saudi club. Ronaldo is also believed to have secured a 15% stake in Al-Nassr.
As the most followed person on social media, with a combined one billion followers across platforms, Ronaldo has leveraged this following by amassing a portfolio of sponsorships and endorsements.
His lifetime contract with Nike, signed in 2016, is reportedly worth $1bn, while additional money comes from Altice, Herbalife, DAZN, Clear Shampoo and Unilever for endorsing their products and brands.
The best of the rest
Unsurprisingly, Ronaldo’s long-time rival Lionel Messi was the third highest-paid athlete last year earning $130m, bested by boxer Saúl ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in second, who earned $137m.
Canelo inked a four-year $400m contract with Riyadh Season in February 2025, with $125m of his total earnings coming from his salary and winnings. The 35-year-old Mexican fought twice last year, a win against William Scull in Saudi Arabia, and a loss to Terence Crawford in Las Vegas.
Unlike Ronaldo and Canelo, Messi made more in endorsements than salary/winnings in 2025. The legendary Argentine footballer earned $70m with sponsorships such as Adidas, Apple, Mastercard, and Pepsi, to name a few.
Messi’s $60m per-year contract with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami makes him comfortably the highest-paid player in the league and in the US. His contract is also the second-highest in US sports, behind the New York Mets’ Juan Soto’s $122.2m contract, who placed fourth overall.
LeBron James is the fifth highest-paid athlete in the list, with his Los Angeles Lakers contract ($48.7m) and money from endorsements ($80m) took the NBA legend’s total earnings to $128.7m.
Similar to Ronaldo, James has a lifetime contract worth $1bn with Nike and has made several strategic investments in Liverpool Football Club (2%) and Blaze Pizza (10%), now worth $108m and $35m-$40m, respectively.
Karim Benzema (fifth: $115m), Stephen Curry (sixth: $105.4m), Shohei Ohtani (seventh: $102.5m), Kevin Durant (ninth: $100.8m), and Jon Rahm (tenth: $100.7m) round up the rest of the top 10.
Every athlete in the top 10, including Lewis Hamilton in 11th ($100m), all made $100m or more last year.
