The financial scale of professional sports has shifted in ways that take a moment to actually absorb. A handful of athletes now earn more in a single year than most corporations generate in profit. Some of these contracts weren’t even theoretically possible five years ago. Here are the 10 athletes set to dominate the earnings leaderboard in 2026 and into 2027.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – Soccer (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia)
Ronaldo is the highest-paid athlete on the planet, pulling in an estimated $260-$285 million annually between salary and endorsements. He extended his Al Nassr deal through 2027, a package worth roughly $620 million over two years once bonuses and commercial income are factored in. Off the pitch, a lifetime Nike deal, his CR7 brand (hotels, fragrances, apparel), and 600+ million social media followers give him a commercial operation that runs entirely independent of his club career. Cristiano Ronaldo’s net worth is $1.2 billion.
2. LeBron James – NBA Basketball (Los Angeles Lakers)
LeBron’s 2025-26 Lakers salary is $52.6 million. That’s actually the smaller half of his income. His off-court earnings add another $75+ million per year through a lifetime Nike deal, equity stakes in Fenway Sports Group, and his SpringHill entertainment company. He became the first active NBA player to hit billionaire status in 2022, while still playing professionally. LeBron James’s net worth is $1.2 billion.
3. Lionel Messi – Soccer (Inter Miami CF, MLS)
Messi earns between $70 million and $80 million annually from Inter Miami, a deal structured to include a share of Apple TV+ MLS Season Pass revenues. A lifetime Adidas partnership and endorsements with Pepsi, Budweiser, and crypto platforms add another $50+ million per year. He took less guaranteed salary than Ronaldo’s Saudi deal would have paid, and it’s a reasonable bet he’ll end up richer for it. The American market and long-term brand equity is real in a way the Saudi Pro League simply isn’t, at least not yet. Lionel Messi’s net worth is $850 million.
4. Shohei Ohtani – MLB Baseball (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Ohtani signed what was at the time the largest contract in professional sports history: 10 years, $700 million with the Dodgers. He’s deferred the vast majority of it, collecting only about $2 million per year in salary until 2034, when he starts drawing $68 million annually. In the meantime, endorsements from New Balance, Porsche, and Oakley bring in roughly $100 million per year. The structure is a deliberate play to minimize California income tax exposure across his full earning window, and it works. Shohei Ohtani’s net worth is approximately $500 million.
5. Juan Soto – MLB Baseball (New York Mets)
Soto holds the largest guaranteed contract in baseball history: 15 years, $765 million from the New York Mets, signed December 2024, with no deferred money. His 2026 salary tops $51 million, and partnerships with Under Armour and Wilson add several million more per year. He can opt out after 2029 if he keeps hitting the way he has, which gives him leverage the Mets have to be aware of. He’s 27. Juan Soto’s net worth is $100 million.
6. Giannis Antetokounmpo – NBA Basketball (Milwaukee Bucks)
Giannis is midway through a three-year, $175 million extension with the Bucks, earning $54.1 million in 2025-26 and rising to $62.7 million by 2027-28. A Nike lifetime partnership and growing endorsement deals add an estimated $45 million annually. He was born in Athens to Nigerian parents, grew up poor enough that his brothers had to share a single pair of shoes, and is now one of the highest-paid athletes on earth. Nike doesn’t sign athletes to lifetime deals because they play well; they sign them because the story sells. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s net worth is approximately $120 million.
7. Patrick Mahomes – NFL (Kansas City Chiefs)
Mahomes signed a 10-year extension worth up to $503 million in 2020, the largest NFL contract at the time. His 2026 cash earnings land around $46-50 million per year, and endorsements with Oakley, State Farm, Hy-Vee, and Coors Light push his total annual income past $70 million. Three Super Bowl titles help, but what actually drives his commercial value is that he manages to be both dominant and likable, which is rarer in professional football than people realize. Patrick Mahomes’s net worth is approximately $100 million.
8. Lamar Jackson – NFL (Baltimore Ravens)
Jackson’s five-year, $260 million Ravens contract signed in 2023 pays him a base salary of $51.25 million in 2026. His cap hit that year is $74.5 million, second-highest in the NFL, and Baltimore is already in early extension talks to manage the number going forward. He earns relatively little in endorsements compared to his on-field profile, which is odd given that he’s a two-time MVP with a playing style no one has managed to replicate. Lamar Jackson’s net worth is approximately $50 million.
9. Stephen Curry – NBA Basketball (Golden State Warriors)
Curry earns around $52 million in salary from the Warriors in 2025-26, with another $50 million per year from endorsements led by his Under Armour signature shoe line. He’s also built Unanimous Media into a production company with real credits and made equity investments across consumer brands. His wealth accumulation has been notably quiet relative to his profile, which is probably intentional. Stephen Curry’s net worth is approximately $160 million.
10. Jon Rahm – Golf (LIV Golf)
Rahm reportedly earned $218 million in his first year with LIV Golf, the vast majority from a guaranteed contract rather than prize money. That’s the structural point people miss: LIV pays upfront, win or lose, which is how a golfer ends up on a list otherwise dominated by soccer players and NBA stars. His on-course results have been uneven since leaving the PGA Tour. His bank account has not been. Jon Rahm’s net worth is approximately $100 million.
The Bigger Picture
Three things are reshaping wealth at the top of this list. Saudi investment is the most obvious: Ronaldo, Rahm, and Karim Benzema at Al Ittihad all signed packages that European leagues couldn’t match and the PGA Tour had no mechanism to even attempt. Ohtani’s deferred contract structure is quietly influencing how other high earners in high-tax markets think about long-term income management. And LeBron and Mahomes are the clearest examples of what the actual endgame looks like: equity positions in businesses that compound after the playing career ends.
The $100 million annual earnings threshold is now the floor for this group, not the ceiling. What separates the ones who stay wealthy from the ones who don’t is almost never what happens on the field.
