The Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo claimed the top spot among all sportsmen in earnings during 2024 while male athletes mostly filled the entire list of highest earners. The Forbes annual list revealed no women among its top 100 spots thus demonstrating continuing discrimination against female athletes in professional sports.
Ronaldo currently earns more than $260 million while playing for Al-Nassr Saudi Pro League. The Saudi club used Ronaldo’s signing fees to bolster its international player acquisitions while he brought in a major(frame) Saudi Arabian team contract. Ronaldo added substantially to his wealth with his sponsorships from Nike Binance along with Louis Vuitton.
After Ronaldo signed his massive deal more than two-foot bol players secured similar lucrative agreements with Messi and Mbappé. Inter Miami and Major League Soccer continue to provide Messi financial benefits because he remains a club owner and maintains numerous sponsorship deals. European football observers continued to recognize Mbappé as a top earner beyond persistent reports linking him to a Paris Saint-Germain exit.
LeBron James and Stephen Curry together with additional NBA players and golfers received significant earnings in the presented list. Sports professionals benefiting from Saudi-funded LIV Golf received hefty contracts to leave the PGA Tour and join their camp.
The decision to exclude women from the top 100 rankings in the list triggered renewed discussion about how poorly female athletes are paid. Tennis legend Iga Świątek and US soccer star Alex Morgan receive significant endorsement contracts however their total payments stand substantially lower than what male athletes receive. The 2024 independent calculation of top-compensated female athletic salary of the year fell under the earnings of the 100 lowest-paid male athletes according to the list.
Critics say that the chasm has been fueled by unequal treatment in the quantity of television coverage, contract endorsements, and prize purses. While men’s sports remain dominant with considerable broadcasting rights and even bigger box office sales, women’s league advocates are pressing for more investments and larger marketing pushes to close the economic gap.
Despite efforts to market women’s sports throughout the world, the latest earnings list highlights the unbridged gap in professional sports. Unless drastic changes are made in sponsorship models and revenue sharing, gender disparity in sports earnings will probably stay with us in the coming years.
