Forbes Highest Paid Athletes in the World [UPDATED 2018]

Sports are the most followed culture in the world after movies. It gets more media coverage than actual worldwide news. It doesn’t matter whether it swimming or soccer, each and every sport is rewarding in many ways. It takes a tremendous amount of passion and hard work to make a good athlete out of a normal person. A good athlete must have certain qualities such as discipline, perseverance, passion and the will to move forward regardless of multiple defeats.

Athletes work really hard to endure in their sports without any additional medication. It is very difficult to maintain the consistency in a game/session. And this is why the job they do is quite difficult. And this is why they are paid amazingly well. Most of the athletes are millionaires, while others are still following the dream. Here are Forbes Highest Paid Athletes.

Forbes Highest Paid Athletes 2017

10. Kobe Bryant:$50 M

He is the only player in this list who has equal monetary amount from endorsements and same amount from winnings. At number 10 of Forbes Highest Paid Athletes 2017, we have Kobe Bryant. Even though he is retired, Forbes has identified him as one of the top 10 highest paid athletes which also mean that he is one of the highest paid basketball players there is.

In his playing career, Standing at 6 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 205 pounds, Bryant primarily plays as a guard. He is often termed as one of the most dangerous scorers in the game.

9. Jordan Spieth:$52.8 M

At number 9 of Forbes Highest Paid Athletes 2017, we have Jordan Spieth. His golf skills have fetched him this amazing salary of 20 million dollars which add up with the endorsements too. The endorsement amount for these players is 32 million dollars. His pay is 52.8 million dollars.

8. Phil Michelson:$52.9 M

With a pay of almost 53 million dollars, pro golfer Phil Michelson is at number 8 of Forbes Highest Paid Athletes 2017. His winnings are mere 2.9 million dollars but his endorsements are pretty huge, adding up to 50 million dollars! Without an active fan base and popularity… it is not possible to have such a huge pay and so he does.

7. Cam Newton:$53.1 M

His pay is more than 53 million dollars making him one of the Forbes Highest Paid Athletes 2017. His endorsements add up to 12 million dollars and have sufficient reasons to be so. An amazing NFL player like him deserves it. This American quarterback is really living up to it.

6. Novak Djokovic: $55.8 M

He is immensely loved by his fans for the amazing skills he has. Novak is one of the best names in tennis and earns more than 56 million dollars as pay Along with an endorsement amount of whopping 34 million dollars. He wins 21.8 million dollars as salary according to the recent study by Forbes. His charming gameplay and efficiency is why he is at number 6 of Forbes Highest Paid Athletes 2017.

5. Kevin Durant:$56.2 M

We all know this amazing player and his capability to win singlehandedly. His endorsements are 36 million dollars. His pay is more than 56 million dollars with winnings worth 20.2 million dollars. All these add up and lift him up to the number 5 of Forbes Highest Paid Athletes 2017.  He is definitely one of the best there is.

4. Roger Federer:$67.8 M

Being the best tennis player in the world fetches him a huge amount of money along with an equally healthy fan base. His endorsements are 60 million dollars. And his pay is 67 million dollars. With winnings worth 7.8 million dollars, he really is worthy of this position at number 4 on this list of Forbes Highest Paid Athletes 2017.

3. LeBron James:$77.2 M

He is one of the most followed athletes this world has got. Apart from being a great athlete, he also has an amazing fan following and is incredibly rich because of his high salary and earnings. His pay is 77 million dollars which adds up with the endorsements. His endorsements add up to More than 54 million dollars. So, you see even if his winning are not that much, his endorsements and sponsors have lifted him to number 3 positions in this list of Forbes Highest Paid Athletes 2017.

2. Lionel Messi: $81.4 M

Recently retired, Lionel Messi has been given the 2^nd position on this list of Forbes Highest Paid Athletes 2017. His rivalry with Ronaldo is something that has created a worldwide rage. This competition between the number 1 and number 2 of highest paid athletes is the actual thing people look forward to. With a pay of 81.4 million dollars and endorsements worth 28 million dollar… he really justifies this position. He has an amazing fandom that broke into nothingness when he announced his retirement this early. His winnings add up to more than 53 million dollars according to Forbes.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo: $88 M

With increasing fan base, his popularity is skyrocketing. He is the number one football player in the whole world right now with a whooping paycheck of 88 million dollars. Cristiano has amazing football skills and a gorgeous body form that makes girl swoon over him in a minute. Being the most marketable athlete in the whole world, he is endorsed and sponsored by thousands and thousands of clients every year. His endorsements alone fetch him 32 million dollars. He wins 56 million dollars as salary too. Not only him but his team of Real Madrid too is the number one richest football team in the whole world. This should not come as a shock because it is obvious. It must be fascinating to be on the top. Isn’t it?[MyAd]

Other Special Mentions in the list of Forbes Highest Paid Athletes 2017:

11. Lewis Hamilton

12. Tiger Woods

13. Eli Manning

14. Joe Flacco

15. Tom Brady

16. Floyd Mayweather

17. Rory McElroy

18. Russell Wilson

19. Sebastian Vettel

20. Philip Rivers

21. Rafael Nadal

22. Neymar

23. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

24. Fernando Alonso

25. Gareth Bale

26. Marcell Dareus

27. Peyton Manning

28. Derrick Rose

29. Kei Nishikori

30. A.J Green

31. James Harden

32. Usain Bolt

33. Clayton Kershaw

34. Dwayne Wade

35. Drew Brees

36. Carmelo Anthony

37. Chris Paul

38. Cliff Lee

39. Olivier Vernon

40. Serena Williams

41. Justin Verlander

42. Kyrie Irving

43. Julio Jones

44. Luke Kuechly

45. Robinson Cano

46. Dwight Howard

47. Miguel Cabrera

48. Albert Pujols

49. Blake Griffin

50. Wayne Rooney

51. Cameron Jordan

52. Russell Westbrook

53. Ryan Howard

54. Trent Williams

55. Chris Bosh

56. Felix Hernandez

57. Zack Grienke

58. Prince Fielder

59. CC Sabathia

60. Sergio Aguero

61. Sam Bradford

62. Paul George

63. Manny Pacquiao

64. Kevin Love

65. Yoenis Cespedes

66. Joe Mauer

67. David Price

68. Luis Suarez

69. Stephen Curry

70. Jason Day

71. Dez Bryant

72. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

73. Demaryius Thomas

74. Andy Murray

75. Masahiro Tanaka

76. Mark Teixiera

77. Joe Johnson

78. Cole Hamels

79. Anthony Castonzo

80. Troy Tulowitzki

81. Bastian Schweinsteiger

82. Jimmie Johnson

83. Angel Di Maria

84. James Rodriguez

85. Eden Hazard

86. Conor Mc Gregor

87. David Ortiz

88. Maria Sharapova

89. Jacoby Ellsbury

90. Justin Houston

91. Matt Kemp

92. Canelo Alvaarez

93. Adrian Gonzalez

94. La Marcus Aldridge

95. Cameron Heyward

96. Jyson Werth

97. Alex Rodriguez

98. Nico Rosberg

99. Carl Crawford

100. Buster Posey

So these 100 athletes are the Forbes Highest Paid Athletes in the World.