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Highest Paid Athletes in 2025

Who are the highest-paid athletes in 2025? The best athletes in the world are typically rewarded handsomely for their talents. However, some sports pay far more than others. 

Athletes can bank a fortune from their contracts and become even wealthier with endorsement deals. For this list, though, I will focus solely on the highest-paid athletes according to Average Annual Value (AAV) of their current deals. 

Highest Paid Athletes

See the infographic below for the 10 highest-paid professional athletes in 2025. 

Highest-paid can have different meanings depending on how you slice an athlete’s income. For instance, Stephen Curry made $56 million from his NBA contract, which does not crack the top 10. However, if you include his $100 million in off-the-court endorsements, then Curry is one of the top 10 best-paid athletes in the world. 

Other players have taken their compensation in something other than cash. Lionel Messi, for example, received equity in Inter Miami, as well as revenue from new Apple TV subscriptions, when he signed with the club in 2023. 

Also, some players are under contracts that have not started paying out yet. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, for example, cashed in after leading the OKC Thunder to a title in the 2025 NBA Finals. He signed a $285 million extension that does not kick in until the 2027 season. 

In some sports, most notably baseball, players are allowed to defer part of their contracts. Shohei Ohtani, for example, signed a 10-year $700 million deal with the Dodgers, but deferred $680 million until 2034. 

AAV is an average, so not every year of a player’s deal will pay the same. Some teams and organizations front-load contractual guarantees to minimize their long-term risks.    

Rank	Athlete	Sport	Total Contract Value	Average Annual Value
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Soccer	$710.03 million	$355.015 million
2	Oleksandr Usyk	Boxing	$132.8 million	$132.8 million
3	Shohei Ohtani	Baseball	$700 million	$70 million
4	Karim Benzema	Soccer	$201.4 million	$67.14 million
5	Jayson Tatum	Basketball	$314 million	$62.8 million
6	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Basketball	$186 million	$62 million
7	Jaylen Brown	Basketball	$303.7 million	$60.75 million
8	Dak Prescott	Football	$240 million	$60 million
9	Lionel Messi	Soccer	$150 million	$60 million
10	Devin Booker and Karl Anthony-Towns (tied)	Basketball	$220 million	$55.11 million

Highest Paid Athletes by Sport

Salary caps, yearly revenue, and the willingness of franchise owners all affect how much an athlete can make in each sport. Here is a closer look at the highest-paid athletes in 2025 for major US sports, according to Sportstrac and other contract tracking sites. 

Who is the Highest-Paid NFL Player?

The NFL is the king of the US sports landscape, but a relatively small salary cap that must fund the contracts of 53 players limits the top earning potential for football stars. Enter the 2025 regular season, the highest-paid players in the NFL, based on AAV, are: 

It is no surprise that the top of the highest-paid football players list is identical to the highest-paid QB rankings. However, quarterbacks are not the only ones who can earn generational wealth on the gridiron.

Offensive Position	Highest-Paid Player	Defensive Position	Highest-Paid Player
Quarterback	Dak Prescott ($60 mil/year)	Outside linebacker	T.J. Watt ($41 mil/year)
Wide receiver	Ja’Marr Chase ($40.25 mil/year)	Defensive End	Myles Garret ($40 mil/year)
Offensive Tackle	Rashawn Slater ($28.50 mil/year)	Defensive Tackle	Chris Jones ($31.75 mil/year)
Offensive Guard	Trey Smith ($23.4 mil/year)	Cornerback	Sauce Gardner ($30.1 mil/year)
Center	Creed Humphrey ($18 mil/year)	Inside Linebacker	Fred Warner ($21 mil/year)
Running Back	Saquon Barkley ($20.6 mil/year)	Safety	Kerby Joseph ($21.5 mil/year)
Tight End	George Kittle ($19.1 mil/year)

Of course, we cannot forget the special teams players. The highest-paid kicker and punter in the NFL are Harrison Butker ($6.4 mil/year) and AJ Cole ($3.95 mil/year), respectively. 

Watt’s $41 mil per year deal broke the record for the highest-paid non-quarterback. However, he is unlikely to have the record for long. Cowboys’ pass rusher Micah Parsons is expected to set a new record when he signs his next contract. 

On offense, the next crop of third-year quarterbacks, which includes the likes of CJ Stroud, will also likely set new marks for the highest-paid players in the NFL. 

Highest-Paid NBA Players

Smaller rosters and a longer season allow the top NBA players to earn significantly more than their NFL counterparts. At the time of writing, the highest-paid NBA players ahead of the 2025 season include:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed the biggest contract in NBA history in the summer of 2025. However, his four-year, $285 million deal, which offers an AAV of $71.25 million, is an extension that does not go into effect until 2027. 

The highest-paid NBA players by position are:

SGA will replace Curry as the highest-paid PG once his extension kicks in. Also, AD will be replaced as the highest-paid Center when Joel Embiid’s extension, which pays $62.5 mil AAV, starts in 2026. Booker’s AAV jumps to over $66 mil/year in 2028 thanks to his new extension, as well. 

In addition to competing to be the highest paid, stars across the NBA are attempting to become the first player to earn a million per game. SGA’s new extension will put him close, earning nearly $72 million per year for the 82-game regular season. 

Who Are the Highest-Paid WNBA Players?

The WNBA has exploded in popularity recently, but the player salaries have not caught up yet. As of August 2025, the highest-paid WNBA player is Jackie Young, who makes an AAV of $252,450. 

For those curious, Caitlin Clark is tied for the 70th-best AAV in the WNBA at $84.5k per year. 

The top earners based on AAV in the WNBA are as follows:

Breaking it down by position, the highest-paid players in the WNBA are:

Many WNBA stars took the opportunity at the 2025 All-Star Game to protest their low pay. If the league’s popularity continues to grow, we could see a huge boost in player salaries shortly. 

Which MLB Players Make the Most Money?

The MLB has long had the strongest players’ union, and contracts for baseball’s biggest stars reflect that. Juan Soto is the highest-paid MLB player thanks to his $765 million contract. However, since it is a 15-year deal, Soto’s AAV is only $51 million per season. 

MLB’s top earners based on AAV are:

As noted above, Ohtani chose to defer $68 million per year until 2034. So, despite being owed $70 million a season, he will only earn an average of $2 million per year from his MLB contract. 

The highest-paid players by position in the MLB are:

• Starting Pitcher: Zack Wheeler – $42 mil/year
• Relief Pitcher: Edwin Diaz – $20.4 mil/year
• Catcher: J.T. Realmuto – $23.1 mil/year
• 1st Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – $28.5 mil/year
• 2nd Base: Marcus Semien – $25 mil/year
• 3rd Base: Alex Bregman – $40 mil/year
• Shortstop: Francisco Lindor – $34.1 mil/year
• Left field: Jose Altuve – $25 mil/year
• Center field: Cody Bellinger – $26.67 mil/year
• Right field: Juan Soto – $51 mil/year
• Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani – $70 mil/year

Top-Paid NHL Players

Hockey is not as popular in the US as football, basketball, or baseball. However, the best players in the NHL can still make a pretty penny. 

The highest-paid hockey player in the NHL is Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, who makes $14 million per year. Other players at the top of the AAV market in the NHL include:

Unsurprisingly, the top four highest-paid NHL players are all Centers. If you break it down by position, the best-paid hockey players are:

Highest-Paid Soccer Players in 2025

Soccer is a global sport, but players in the US typically do not make as much as their counterparts in Europe and the Middle East. Cristiano Ronaldo’s two-year $710.03 million contract is the richest deal in the world in terms of AAV. The 40-year-old soccer star makes over $355 million AAV on his current contract. 

Other top earners from across the world of soccer include:

Lionel Messi is only guaranteed around $20 million based on his contract. However, since he received equity in the team, Messi makes roughly $60 million per year. 

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, better known as just Neymar, was making approximately $100 million per year on his deal with Al-Hilal. However, that contract expired in the summer of 2025. 

What are the Biggest NIL Deals in College Athletics?

The NIL era has, for better or worse, changed the landscape of college athletics. On-field performance and other factors, such as a healthy social media following, contribute to a player’s NIL evaluation. 

College players with the highest NIL evaluations, according to On3, for the 2025-2026 school year include:

Player	Sport	School	NIL Evaluation
Arch Manning	Football (QB)	Texas	$6.8 million
Carson Beck	Football (QB)	Miami	$4.3 million
Jeremiah Smith	Football (WR)	Ohio State	$4.2 million
AJ Dybansta	Basketball (SF)	BYU	$4.1 million
Garrett Nussmeier	Football (QB)	LSU	$3.8 million
LaNorris Sellers	Football (QB)	South Carolina	$3.7 million
DJ Lagway	Football (QB)	Florida	$3.7 million
Cade Klubnik	Football (QB)	Clemson	$3.4 million
Drew Allar	Football (QB)	Penn State	$3.1 million
Sam Leavitt	Football (QB)	Arizona State	$3.1 million

The top-earning women’s athlete is LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, who has an NIL evaluation of $1.5 million for the upcoming 2025-2026 basketball season. 

What Athletes Will Be Paid Next?

Cristiano Ronaldo, Shohei Ohtani, Jayson Tatum, and Dak Prescott all rank at the top of their respective sports in AAV, for now. Read the guide above to see the highest-paid players in sports. 

Of course, as salary caps continue to increase, new records will be set for the highest-paid players in the NFL, MLB, NBA, soccer, and other sports. Check back soon to see how the latest deals change the rankings of the best-paid athletes in the world.