Michael Jordan Leads Highest-Paid Athletes of All-Time at $3B Earned

With his iconic line of shoes, Jordan is the person every athlete is chasing in the business world.

The 100 highest-paid athletes in the world made a record $6.2 billion last year from salaries, prize money and endorsements, led by Cristiano Ronaldo ($260 million) and Stephen Curry ($154 million). The total was up 14%, as several team owners locked up their biggest stars with blockbuster contracts.

Yet, an athlete who retired more than 20 years ago earned more than any of them, continuing a four-decade run as the G.O.A.T. off the court.

Michael Jordan earned an estimated $300 million in 2024, with Nike responsible for most of his earnings. It pushed his career earnings to $3 billion since he turned pro in 1984, or $4.15 billion when adjusted for inflation. He sits atop Sportico’s look at the highest-paid athletes of all time, ahead of Tiger Woods ($2.79 billion, adjusted for inflation), Ronaldo ($2.23 billion) and LeBron James ($1.88 billion).

Click here for a full list of the top 50 and detailed methodology.

Nike signed a deal with Jordan after the Chicago Bulls selected him third overall in the 1984 NBA Draft. The agreement negotiated by David Falk, initially for five years, was worth $500,000 per year and famously included a cut of the sales of sneakers that first hit the market in 1985.

The brand has soared since then. Last year, Nike reported Jordan sales of $7 billion, up 6% versus the prior year, as the rest of Nike’s business was flat. Jordan Brand revenue has doubled since 2020 as it expanded into more women’s gear, non-basketball items and international sales. The “performance” basketball shoe market is down over the past decade, but the “retro” or lifestyle business has more than made up for the declines.

Nike’s latest fiscal year, which ends next month, will have Jordan Brand sales trending down, as the entire company goes through a reboot under new CEO Elliott Hill. But the brand remains a key cog in Hill’s turnaround efforts; after all, Hill was the Nike executive who took the Jordan Brand international in the late 1990s.

Besides Nike, MJ maintains his longtime endorsement relationships with Gatorade, Five Star, Upper Deck and 2K. In 2023, he sold a majority interest in the Charlotte Hornets, but the five-time NBA MVP remains a team owner in the 23XI Racing NASCAR team. He also is an investor in Axiomatic, Cincoro tequila, DraftKings and Sportradar. Last year, he put money into Courtside Ventures, a VC fund focused on sports, lifestyle and gaming.

Athletes from eight different sports crack the top 50, and most of the 50 athletes are retired—18 are still active. But like MJ, hanging up your sneakers or cleats does not mean the end of the money flow for many all-time greats.

David Beckham was the biggest star in the world’s biggest sport, and his annual income peaked around $50 million during his 20-year career. Yet, Beckham has made more than that most years in retirement, as he ramped up partnerships with more time to devote to them. Upon his retirement, he initially inked several deals in China, capitalizing on the country’s massive interest in the sport at the time. His biggest payday came in 2022 when Authentic Brands Group paid roughly $270 million for a 55% stake in Beckham’s DB Ventures LLC, the holding company for many of his partnerships. Beckham’s other ventures and dividends from ABG pushed his earnings north of $60 million last year.

Sportico’s top 50 doesn’t factor in investment income or equity stakes, but Beckham has scored there as well, particularly with his MLS franchise, Inter Miami FC. Beckham received an option to launch an expansion franchise at a fixed fee of $25 million when he joined MLS as a player in 2007. By the time Inter Miami started play in 2020, MLS franchise values had soared. In 2022, the club’s value got a further boost when it secured final approval for a new stadium, and again the following year with the arrival of Lionel Messi. In January, Sportico’s MLS team valuations had Inter Miami at $1.19 billion.

Beckham ranks eighth with inflation-adjusted earnings of $1.61 billion.

Tom Brady retired after the 2022 NFL season. During his 23-year career, he won seven Super Bowl titles in 10 trips and three NFL MVP Awards. His average playing salary during his career, including bonuses, was $14.5 million, and it was $21 million over his last decade when he was the unquestioned biggest star in the world’s richest sports league.

His “retirement” job pays better.

Last season, Brady kicked off his 10-year, $375 million contract to be Fox Sports’ lead NFL analyst. He continues to be a popular pitchman, starring in recent national ad campaigns for Dick’s Sporting Goods, Duracell and Hertz. In 2020, he signed a lucrative, long-term memorabilia and autograph deal with Fanatics. Last year, his “TB12” and “Brady” brands merged with apparel brand NoBull in a deal that made Brady the second-largest shareholder in the company.

Brady ranks No. 21 with inflation-adjusted cumulative earnings of $820 billion. He is one of just four NFL players to crack the top 50, versus 13 in basketball; football players typically have shorter careers—Brady is a massive outlier—and annual endorsement earnings also trail the biggest stars in basketball.

Golfers take up eight slots in the top 50, second behind basketball. Golfers benefit from decades-long careers, and the sport’s biggest stars remain popular pitchmen long after their biggest victories. Arnold Palmer still earned nearly $40 million a year off his name and brand when he died in 2016 at 87. Woods has only won three golf tournaments since 2013, with the last in 2019, but he still earns more than $60 million per year.

Other sports representation includes seven each from boxing and racing, five in tennis, four soccer players and two baseball.

Jordan, Woods, Ronaldo and Brady are the top earners for their respective sports. Other leaders include tennis’ Roger Federer (No. 9, $1.59 billion), boxing’s Floyd Mayweather (No. 10, $1.52 billion), auto racing’s Michael Schumacher (No. 12, $1.39 billion), and baseball’s Alex Rodriguez (No. 22, $795 million). The threshold to crack the top 50 is $570 million. Americans represent 32 of the 50 names, and Serena Williams is the only woman to crack the top earners—Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams fall within the next 50 names.