The Highest-Paid Athletes At The Paris Olympics

Forbes

LeBron James will be the first self-made billionaire to compete in the Summer Games, but who else stands on the earnings podium in basketball, tennis, golf and other sports.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2024/07/25/the-highest-paid-athletes-at-the-paris-olympics/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Even in popular Olympic sports like gymnastics, swimming, or track and field,

00:05there is little hope for big paydays directly through compensation.

00:08While many countries pay bonuses to medal winners,

00:11a lack of professional leagues and four years between Olympics

00:14means that athletes have to be smart about capitalizing on their newfound fame.

00:19Forbes tracks the top athletes throughout the year

00:21with large paying contracts or prize money winnings

00:24and millions of dollars in brand endorsements and business ventures off the field.

00:28Here are the top 3 highest earners across 5 of the most lucrative sports in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

00:43NBA players are the highest paid group of athletes in Paris by a wide margin,

00:47with Team USA alone containing 7 of the 50 highest paid athletes in the world across all sports.

00:53Still, there are 35 active NBA players across the other teams in the competition,

00:58and Canada's 10 NBA players, for example, make an average on-court salary of $16.2 million.

01:05As a category, basketball players are the most consistent earners off the court,

01:09and all but LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo make more money from their NBA salaries than endorsements.

01:15James also has the distinction of being the only billionaire to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games.

01:23Representing women's tennis, Iga Szywontek, Coco Gauff, and Naomi Osaka.

01:29Among female athletes, tennis players reign supreme in terms of earnings.

01:33Poland's Iga Szywontek, a 5-time Grand Slam champion and the world's number one at just 23 years old,

01:39already ranks 9th in the all-time WTA prize money rankings,

01:43and has endorsements that include Rolex, Porsche, and Visa.

01:48Since winning her first Grand Slam at last year's US Open,

01:51world number two Coco Gauff has added new sponsorships from Ray-Ban and hair care brand Carol's Daughter

01:56to an already robust portfolio.

01:59And 26-year-old Naomi Osaka, who will represent Japan at the Games,

02:03is hoping to re-establish her game on the court

02:05and reclaim her crown as the highest-paid female athlete in the world,

02:09a title she held for three straight years from 2020 to 2022.

02:14Representing men's tennis, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Daniil Medvedev.

02:20In this month's Wimbledon final, 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz dominated 37-year-old Novak Djokovic

02:26for what felt like a long-awaited passing of the torch in tennis.

02:30The young Spaniard also won last month's French Open title

02:33on the same courts where the Olympic tennis competition will be held.

02:37Considering the Grand Slam bonuses in his Nike deal,

02:40and with the addition of Louis Vuitton to his sponsorship portfolio in early 2024,

02:44it's likely Alcaraz will also become the highest-paid tennis player in the world this year.

02:50Representing women's golf, Nelly Korda, Brooke Henderson, and Jin Young Ko.

02:56Nelly Korda has dominated the LPGA Tour this season,

02:59earning more than $3 million in prize money so far in 2024,

03:04and at one point winning five consecutive tournaments.

03:07The 25-year-old American was already golf's top pitchwoman,

03:10with sponsors including Delta Airlines, Goldman Sachs, and T-Mobile.

03:14Both Brooke Henderson and Jin Young Ko are marketing stars in their respective home countries as well,

03:19pulling in an estimated $3.5 million off the course.

03:24Representing men's golf, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, and Scotty Scheffler.

03:30Jon Rahm had the highest-earning year of any golfer Forbes has ever recorded,

03:34thanks to his defection to the Live Golf Tour

03:36that came with an estimated $175 million upfront payment from the Saudis,

03:41who own the Breakaway Golf Tour.

03:43Meanwhile, Scotty Scheffler and Rory McIlroy,

03:45the number one and number two golfers in the world,

03:48have remained loyal to the PGA Tour,

03:50and have each benefited from a bump in prize money in response to the Live emergence.

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