For Third Consecutive Year, Cristiano Ronaldo Is at Top of Forbes’ List of World’s Highest-Paid Athletes

For the third year in a row and the fifth time in his career, Cristiano Ronaldo topped Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes in the world.

Photo: Cristiano Ronaldo celebrating one of his goals for Al-Nassr (screenshot: https://www.youtube.com/@JMProductionsHD.)

On and off the field, Cristiano Ronaldo is unstoppable. The Portuguese men’s football player has topped Forbes’ 2025 list of the highest-paid athletes in the world (Forbes has been publishing an annual list of the world’s richest individuals since 1987, allowing readers to find out their net worth).

Ronaldo’s estimated total earnings since joining Al-Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia are approximately $275 million. Through off-field endorsements and lucrative commercial deals supported by his enormous social media following of 939 million as of May, the Portuguese forward’s revenue climbed by $15 million.

What’s Net Worth of Other 9 Athletes on List

Stephen Curry, the guard for the Golden State Warriors, jumped to second place on the list with $156 million after becoming the first NBA player to surpass 4,000 career three-pointers in March.

Third place went to boxer Tyson Fury, who earned $146 million. His revenue has increased due to his Netflix reality show and agreements that promote Maltese tourism, even if he lost his world heavyweight belts against Oleksandr Usyk in December.

Thanks to record-breaking signing bonuses and a hefty contract extension, Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys, the quarterback for the NFL team, moved up to fourth place with $137 million.

After joining Major League Soccer team Inter Miami CF and continuing to collect high-profile endorsements from Adidas and Apple, Lionel Messi fell to fifth position with $135 million, the same amount as the previous year.

LeBron James, a forward for the Los Angeles Lakers who is nearing the end of his remarkable NBA career, came in sixth place with $133.8 million.

Juan Soto, an outfielder for the MLB’s New York Mets, earned $114 million and finished an incredible sixth. The 26-year-old Dominican agreed to biggest contract in baseball history, for $765 million over 15 years.

Karim Benzema, a French striker with Al-Ittihad Club of Saudi Arabia’s men’s football championship, comes in eighth place with $104 million in earnings.

With $102.5 million, Japanese player Shohei Ohtani is in ninth place after deferring the majority of his earnings from his massive contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. Their World Series victory last year over the Yankees, where they were heavy favorites by sites enabling betting with a dollar, greatly increased his wages.

Kevin Durant of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, with $101.4 million, completes the top 10.