#10 Kevin Durant

$65.4 M

Salary: $30.4 million

Endorsements: $35 million

Basketball player

Kevin Durant was drafted into the NBA in 2007 by the Seattle SuperSonics. The next year the team relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. Durant stayed with them until 2016 when he was signed to the Golden State Warriors. There he helped the team win back-to-back championships in 2017-2018. Durant has also achieved many awards throughout his career so far. He has won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, 4 NBA Scoring Titles, 2 All Star Game Most Valuable Player Awards, 2 Finals MVP Awards, a NBA MVP Award and 2 NBA Championships. He even has 2 Olympic Gold Medals. Two of his endorsement deals include Footlocker and Nike.

#9 Stephen Curry

$79.8 M

Salary: $37.8 million

Endorsements: $42 million

Basketball player

In 2009, Stephen Curry was drafted as the seventh overall pick for the Golden State Warriors and so far he has not left. Since then he has helped the team win 3 NBA championships. Curry is a 6 time NBA Allstar and he has been named NBA Most Valuable Player twice. Many basketball analysts consider him to be the greatest shooter in NBA history. He is said to have revolutionized the game of basketball by incorporating the three point shot into a winning strategy. Some of Curry’s endorsement deals include Under Armour, Brita and Chase.

#8 LeBron James

$89 M

Salary: $36 million

Endorsements: $53 million

Basketball player

Lebron James joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003 as the first overall pick in the NBA. In 2010 he signed with the Miami Heat where he won 2 NBA Championships. After his fourth season with the Heat he signed back to the Cavaliers in 2014. In 2016 he helped the Cavs win the NBA Championship against the Golden Sate Warriors. Now he plays with the LA Lakers. Lebron James has won 3 NBA Championships, 4 NBA MVP Awards, 3 NBA Finals MVP Awards, 3 NBA All-Star MVP Awards, and 2 Olympic Gold Medals. He is the all- time highest NBA Playoffs scoring leader. He is considered to be the best current basketball player right now and to some he is the greatest of all time. Some of Lebron’s endorsements include Nike, Intel, MacDonalds, Beats, Sprite and many more.

#7 Aaron Rogers

$89.3 M

Salary: $80.3 million

Endorsements: $9 million

Football player

Aaron Rogers was drafted into the NFL in 2005 as the first round pick to the Green Bay Packers, where he is now the starting quarterback. In 2010, he led Green Bay to win the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That year he was also named the Super Bowl MVP. Some of his other awards include the Associated Press Athlete of the Year in 2011, 2x NFL MVP for 2011 and 2014 and he has played in the Pro Bowl 7 times. Some of Rogers’ endorsements have included Adidas, State Farm and Ford.

#6 Russel Wilson

$89.5 M

Salary: $80.5 million

Endorsements: $9 million

Football player

Russel Wilson was picked in the third round of the NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks. At the time the Sea Hawks were criticized for choosing Wilson but whoever suggested that was definitely wrong. In 2013, Wilson led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win against the Denver Broncos. And again in 2014, Wilson took the team all the way to the Super Bowl but lost by 4 points to the New England Patriots. Wilson has been selected to play in 6 Pro Bowls. He holds the record for the most wins by a NFL quarterback through 7 seasons. In 2019, Wilson signed a four year extension contract to the Seahawks for $140 million, making him the highest paid player in the NFL. Some of Wilson’s endorsements include Nike, Bose and Microsoft.

#5 Roger Federer

$93.4 M

Winnings: $7.4 million

Endorsements: $86 million

Tennis player

Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who is currently ranked number 3 in the world of men’s singles. He has won 8 Wimbledon titles, 6 Australian Open titles, 5 US Open titles and 1 French Open title. He has also won 20 Grand Slam single titles, the most in history for a male player. He has held the #1 spot in the ATP Rankings a total of 310 weeks, 237 of which were consecutive. His endorsements have included Nike, Mercedes Benz, Rolex, Barilla, Gillette and Maurice Lacroix.

#4 Canelo Alverez

$94 M

Winnings $92 million

Endorsements: $2 million

Boxer

Saul “Canelo” Alverez is a Mexican professional boxer. He is said to be the best boxer in the world pound-for-pound. He has multiple world championships in three weight classes. He is known for is body punching and excellent counter punching skills. So far he has had 55 total boxing matches. He has won 52 and 35 of his wins were by knock out. He has 2 draws and 1 loss. His nickname Canelo means cinnamon because he has red hair. His endorsements have include DAZN and Everlast.

#3 Neymar

$105 M

Salary: $75 million

Endorsements: $30 million

Soccer player

Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior, or just known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional soccer player who plays forward for the Brazilian National team and the French club Paris Saint-Germain. Having 60 goals in 97 matches, Neymar is the 3rd highest goal scorer for Brazil. He was a captain on the team in 2016 when Brazil won their first Olympic Gold medal in the Summer Olympics. Neymar is considered to be one of the best soccer players in the world with his dribbling skills and ability to play with both feet. Neymar is the second most popular athlete on social media with over 200 million followers on all platforms. Some of his endorsements include Nike, MacDonalds, Red Bull, DAZN, Beats, Mastercard and Gillete.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo

$109 M

Salary: $65 million

Endorsements: $44 million

Soccer player

Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese professional soccer player who plays forward for the Italian club Juventus and captains the Portugal National team. Ronaldo is considered by some to be the best soccer player right now and of all time. He has won 29 trophies in his career; including 6 league titles, 5 UEFA Champions League’s, 1 UEFA European Championship and 1 UEFA Nations League. He is tied for the record of having the most Ballon d’Or Awards (5). He was the first European player to win 4 European Golden Shoes for most goals scored. He is the most popular professional athlete on social media with a combined total of 400 million followers across all platforms. Ronaldo’s endorsements have included Nike, DAZN, Herbalife, MTG and Electronic Arts.

#1 Lionel Messi

$127 M

Salary: $92 million

Endorsements: $35 million

Soccer player

Lionel Messi is a professional soccer player from Argentina who plays forward and captains both the Barcelona and Argentina national team. He has spent his entire career with Barcelona where he has won a record breaking 34 trophies. Messi shares the record for most Ballon d’Or Awards (5) with Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi holds the record for the most European Golden Shoe trophies at 6. He has scored over 697 goals throughout his career. To many people, he is the best soccer player right now and perhaps the best ever. Messi’s endorsements include Adidas, Mastercard, Pepsi and Gatorade.

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