Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo topped the earnings list in 2024, taking the number one position on Sportico's top-paid athletes list with a whopping $260 million. His record-breaking income comprised the $215 million from his Al-Nassr contract and international duty with Portugal, as well as $45 million in endorsements.

At the age of 40, Ronaldo continues to defy age, scoring 82 goals in 90 games for Al-Nassr since arriving at the Saudi Pro League. His match-winning performances also made him the first-ever player to reach 900 career goals in Sept. 2023.

Top 10 Highest-Paid Athletes of 2024

Cristiano Ronaldo Cashes In Big—Tops 2024's Highest-Paid Athletes List Cristiano Ronaldo Cashes In Big—Tops 2024's Highest-Paid Athletes List
Yasser Bakhsh via Getty Images

Ronaldo was not the only footballer to capitalize on Saudi Arabia's high-paying contracts. Neymar and Karim Benzema also featured in the top 10 following their transfers to the Middle East. Neymar, however, has since returned to Brazil's Santos FC, according to CNN.

Here is how the top five placed:

Cristiano Ronaldo – $260M ($215M salary/winnings, $45M endorsements)
Stephen Curry – $153.8M ($53.8M salary/winnings, $100M endorsements)
Tyson Fury – $147M ($140M salary/winnings, $7M endorsements)
Lionel Messi – $135M ($60M salary/winnings, $75M endorsements)
LeBron James – $133.2M ($48.2M salary/winnings, $85M endorsements)

Even though the Golden State Warriors had a disappointing NBA season, Stephen Curry continued to be an international icon, courtesy of Team USA's Paris Olympic gold medal.

Meanwhile, the NBA star-turned-flop Ben Simmons is the only Australian on the list, according to MSN.

NFL's Top Earners: Dak Prescott Leads the Way

Among NFL players, the highest-paid was Dak Prescott, who made $100.4 million to rank 12th. Jalen Hurts, who led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl LIX win, ranked 65th with $46.1 million.

Women Did Not Make the Cut in the Top 100 List

Even with the booming popularity of women's sports, women athletes were absent from Sportico's top 100. Coco Gauff, the top-paid female athlete of 2024, earned $30.4 million, thanks in large part to her French Open doubles championship and WTA Finals singles title.

To put that in perspective, the 100th-ranked player, NFL quarterback Daniel Jones earned $37.5 million, which is more than Gauff.

At 20 years old, Gauff became the youngest Team USA flag bearer in the Olympics and the first tennis star to be given the privilege.

The highest-paid 100 athletes span eight sports and 27 nations and collectively earned $6.2 billion in 2024. This amount includes $4.8 billion from salary and prizes and $1.4 billion from sponsorships.

Are Women's Sports Really Undervalued and Unappreciated?

On the r/sports subreddit, some Redditors are happy to see their favorite athletes in the top 100. However, it's important to note that other users want to see more women on the list. They feel that there's an inequality happening in the sports industry.

"I'm all for equal pay and female professional athletes being paid more. The problem is women sports draw like 1/100 the viewership of male sports, so they generate far less revenue," one Redditor wrote.

"It's quite sad but we could always look at the top 100 onlyfans earners and the pendulum swings the other way," another Reddit user said.

While it's sad to see no female athletes, we should also take into account that even some women don't watch women's sports, just like another person said.

"Yeaaaaah.... Nobody cares about women's sports. Even women don't watch women's sports."