Top 5 highest paid athletes of 2022

Athletes (Source: Twitter)

Sport is a wonderful field that provides fame, glory, and accolades of the highest order. After all the blood sweat and tears that an athlete has put in it is wonderful to see the effort bear fruit as it results in increased earnings and paychecks and also it results in them winning more games for their country or club.

An Athlete's journey is like no other as there is a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and toil involved and also a lot of sacrifices from the family members who are involved and see the shaping growth and progress of the athlete as he or she evolves from a rookie and turns into a polished diamond and does well at the international level.

Here we look at the top 5 highest-paid athletes in 2022

 5. Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry (Source: Twitter)

Stephen Curry is one of the big names in the NBA. He has outrun all the other players in the NBA in terms of salary this season. The Golden State Warrior player has a yearly salary of 42 Million Dollars along with 36 Million Dollars that he earns courtesy of brand promotions.

Curry’s production company signed a deal with Comcast NBCUniversal in September. The big known name in basketball. He has also signed a new FTX endorsement deal. This deal was an equity stake deal. He also explored the world of blockchain by putting out a collection of NFTs.

4. Neymar

Neymar (Source: Twitter)

Neymar Jr, the PSG forward and Brazilian international earns 70 Million Dollars annually from the club he plays for. This is his on-field earnings. Along with these, the star footballer is entitled to get 25 Million Dollars from his brand endorsements off the field.

In addition to this, he has signed big deals with Puma and Red Bull. There were lucrative deals from these brands. Neymar is also very interested in NFTs. He signed with NFT Star in November and spent over $1 million on two Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs in one day in January.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo 

Cristiano Ronaldo (Source: Twitter)

Cristiano Ronaldo has been one of the leading names in Football, He recently switched clubs from Manchester United to Saudi Arabia-based Al Nassr. He has signed a contract from 2023 which will run till the end of 2025 which is worth 75 Million Dollars per season. The contract will run for 2 years.

He had a 60 Million Dollar contract with the Red Devils earlier. He has a huge following on social media and makes a lot of money because of his huge presence on social media. He also quotes high prices from his sponsor brands such as Clear Shampoo, Nike, and Herbalife.

2. Le Bron James

Le Bron James (Source: Twitter)

Le Bron James has been a four-time NBA Champion and also has been the Most Valuable Player when it comes to the finals. He makes 41.2 Million Dollars from Los Angles Lakers. He also has some high-paying endorsement deals. James and American rapper Drake became part owners of the Italian football club A.C. Milan in August 2022.  

James has also taken off his minority stake in his production company which is known as Spring Hill. He also signed an endorsement deal with Crypto.com. He also has a stake in the Home Gym company tonal and also Status PRO. This Sports Tech Startup is into virtual reality training products.

1. Lionel Messi 

Lionel Messi (Source: Twitter)

Lionel Messi had the eureka moment when he lifted the World Cup in 2022 in Argentinian colors. The former Barcelona striker linked himself with a fan engagement app Socio and also became the brand ambassador of Byjus which was an Indian edtech firm.

He also became the first athlete brand ambassador for Hard Rock international in a deal announced last June, Lionel Messi’s $20 million-a-year partnership with Socios adds to an endorsement portfolio that features Adidas, Budweiser, and Pepsi Co.