Forbe’s has put the top 10 highest athletes for the past 12 months, and the list includes two Paris Saint-Germain players. The world’s ten highest-paid athletes collectively brought in $992 million over the past calendar year, representing a 6-percent drop from 2021.
Over the past 12 months, the highest-paid athlete is Lionel Messi; the 34-year-old made $75-million on the field and $55-million off the field for a total of $130-million.
In addition, the Argentine recently added a $20 million-a-year partnership with Socios to an endorsement portfolio including Adidas, Budweiser, and PepsiCo. Below Messi is Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, and the next time a PSG player makes an appearance on the list is at No. 4 with Neymar Jr.
See where LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo and Stephen Curry land on the list of top paid athletes: https://t.co/KSgCjTr0jY pic.twitter.com/fPPFGn6tq1
— Forbes (@Forbes) May 12, 2022
Over the past 12 months, the Brazil international made a total of $95-million with $70-million on the field and $25-million off the pitch. Off the field, the 30-year-old has a beneficial set of endorsements, including Puma and Red Bull.
Furthermore, the PSG forward is the subject of a new Netflix docuseries, “Neymar: The Perfect Chaos.” It will be interesting to see when Kylian Mbappé will enter this list because it’s only a matter of time before he does.