On Friday, Forbes released its annual list of the highest-paid professional athletes in the world, and there's been some changes from last year's list. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, income for the 100 highest-paid athletes has fallen for the first time in four years. With combined pre-tax earnings of $3.6 billion, the full list sees athletes from a high number of regions and sports represented.
Roger Federer shot from No. 5 last year to No. 1 in 2020. In light of the pandemic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both slipped from the top two spots they held last year. Each of their on-field salaries was cut, but they still came in at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively. Baseball is among the sports most impacted by the economic fallout of COVID-19, while the NBA had plenty of its athletes appearing in the top 100.
LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant all made the top 10 at No. 5, No. 6, and No. 7 respectively. Russell Westbrook just missed the top 10 at No. 11 with $57 million in pre-tax earnings, while James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo also landed in the top 20 at No. 17 and No. 18. Football players are still among the highest-paid athletes, and Kirk Cousins and Carson Wentz cracked the top ten. Tom Brady, however, is at No. 21 with $45 million in earnings.
Worryingly, only two women appear in the entire top 100. Naomi Osaka earned $37.4 million and landed at No. 29, while Serena Williams is close behind at No. 33 with $36 million.
See all of Forbes' Top-10 highest-paid athletes below:
1. Roger Federer - $106.3 million
2. Cristiano Ronaldo - $105 million
3. Lionel Messi - $104 million
4. Neymar - $95.5 million
5. LeBron James - $88.2 million
6. Stephen Curry - $74.4 million
7. Kevin Durant - $63.9 million
8. Tiger Woods - $62.3 million
9. Kirk Cousins - $60.5 million
10. Carson Wentz - $59.1 million
On Friday, Forbes also published an eyebrow-raising article about Kylie Jenner's wealth. Last year the publication named her the youngest self-made billionaire ever, but this it claims Jenner and her camp have "been lying" about her net worth. She denied the claims on Twitter, but Forbes maintains that her wealth sits at just under $900 million.
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