Only one athlete earned more money than Jon Rahm in 2023! But who was it?

Jon Rahm came second in a list of the 100 highest-paid athletes of 2023 following his big-money move to LIV Golf

Jon Rahm was the second highest-paid athlete in the world in 2023… but who was No.1?

In a year when men’s professional golf was flooded with more money than ever thanks to LIV Golf’s deep pockets and the PGA Tour’s attempts to compete with its Saudi rivals, 10 players made it into a list of 2023’s best-paid athletes.

Unsurprisingly, following his Major victory at the Masters and big-money move to LIV, Jon Rahm was golf’s highest-paid star and, according to the new list from Sportico, banked more cash than all but one athlete in 2023. The £161m the Spaniard received wasn’t quite enough to usurp fellow Mediterranean star Cristiano Ronaldo, whose bank balance also enjoyed an eye-watering boost thanks to Saudi Arabian money.

The Portuguese hero topped the list with £218m, £57m ahead of Ryder Cup star Rahm, thanks to his big-money Al-Nassr move, where he’s paid £175m per year, plus his off-course endorsements with the likes of Nike, Herbalife, Armani, Tag Heuer, DAZN and PokerStars, not to mention his own brand CR7.

World Cup winner Lionel Messi, who received a huge payment to join David Beckham’s Inter Miami, came third with £103m, with NBA star LeBron James (£99.8m) and Messi’s former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe (£99.2m) making up the top five.

Rahm was the only golfer to make the top ten, but 10 players made the list of 100 which, in a depressing sign of the work that is still required to bring equality to sport, didn’t include a single woman.

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, who look set to earn even more money in 2024 thanks to the PGA Tour Enterprises Equity Program, were in joint 13^th, both earning $61m… just the £100m less than Rahm.

FedEx Cup champ and Team Europe star Viktor Hovland was 27^th with £41.5m, tied with World No.1 and Ryder Cup rival Scottie Scheffler.

Five-time Major champion Brooks Koepka’s £39m saw him above a host of huge names from the sporting world in 39^th, with fellow LIV star and former Open champion Cameron Smith just outside the top 50 (51^st, £31.4m).

Jordan Spieth endured a relatively tough year on the course, failing to win, but still banked £34m (63^rd), while LIV Golf individual champion Talor Gooch was 61^st with £31.9m. At least that should ease the pain of not getting world-ranking points.

Dustin Johnson’s failure to win a LIV tournament or make the Ryder Cup team in 2023 was presumably eased by his £28.3m in earnings, which placed him 86^th, ensuring he and Paulina won’t need to browse the bargain aisles anytime soon.

NBA players dominated the list with 40 basketball stars in total. 16 NFL players were among the 100, with 13 baseball players, 11 footballers, six boxers, two tennis players and two F1 drivers.

Top 100 Highest Paid Athletes 2023

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (football) – £218m

2. Jon Rahm (golf) – £161m

3. Lionel Messi (football) – £103m

4. LeBron James (basketball) – £99.8m

5. Kylian Mbappe (football) – £99.2m

6. Neymar (football) – £96m

7. Stephen Curry (basketball) – £78.5m

8. Giannis Antetokounmpo (basketball) – £70.2m

9. Kevin Durant (basketball) – £69m

10. Patrick Mahomes (American football) – £66.9m

11. Lamar Jackson (American football) – £65.5m

12. Karim Benzema (football) – £61m

13=. Rory McIlroy (golf) – £61m

13=. Tiger Woods (golf) – £61m

15. Max Verstappen (F1) – £59.5m

16. Shohei Ohtani (baseball) – £55.6m

17. Canelo Alvarez (boxing) – £52.4m 

18. Erling Haaland (football) – £50m

19. Lewis Hamilton (F1) – £49.2m

20. Max Scherzer (baseball) – £48.2m

21. Damian Lillard (basketball) – £47.8m

22. Klay Thompson (basketball) – £47.7m

23. Mohamed Salah (football) – £44.4m

24. Anthony Joshua (boxing) – £43.6m

25. Russell Westbrook (basketball) – £42.8m

26. Nick Bosa (American football) – £42.5m

27=. Viktor Hovland (golf) – £41.5m 

27=. Scottie Scheffler (golf) – £41.5m

29=. James Harden (basketball) – £40.9m

29=. Joe Burrow (American football) – £40.9m

31. Paul George (basketball) – £40.5m

32. Bradley Beal (basketball) – £40.1m

33. Kawhi Leonard (basketball) – £39.7m 

34. Luka Doncic (basketball) – £39.4m

35. Jimmy Butler (basketball) – £38m

36. Daniel Jones (American football) – £37.7m

37. Jake Paul (boxing) – £37.3m

38. Joel Embiid (basketball) – £37.1m  

39. Brooks Koepka (golf) – £37m

40. Deshaun Watson (American football) – £36.9m 

41. Devin Booker (basketball) – £36.7m

42. Aaron Rodgers (American football) – £36.4m 

43. Nikola Jokic (basketball) – £36.3m

44. Anthony Davis (basketball) – £36.1m

45. Dak Prescott (American football) – £35.7m 

46. Novak Djokovic (tennis) – £35.6m 

47. Trae Young (basketball) – £35.5m

48. Justin Verlander (baseball) – £35.3m 

49. Aaron Judge (baseball) – £34.9m

50. Zach LaVine (basketball) – £34.7m

51=. Cameron Smith (golf) – £34.3m 

51=. Kyrie Irving (basketball) – £34.3m 

53. Jordan Spieth (golf) – £34m 

54=. Gervonta Davis (boxing) – £33.7m

54=. Kyler Murray (American football) – £33.7m

56. Carlos Alcaraz (tennis) – £33.5m

57. Jamal Murray (basketball) – £32.5m 

58=. Ryan Garcia (boxing) – £32.1m

58=. Mike Trout (baseball) – £32.1m  

60. Donovan Mitchell (basketball) – £32m

61=. Rudy Gobert (basketball) – £31.9m

61=. Talor Gooch (golf) – £31.9m

63. Jayson Tatum (basketball) – £31.8m

64. Tyson Fury (boxing) – £31.7m

65. Rashan Gary (American football) – £31.6m

66. Tobias Harris (basketball) – £31.2m

67. Chris Paul (basketball) – £30.5m

68. Ben Simmons (basketball) – £30.4m

69. Anthony Rendon (baseball) – £30.4m

70=. Pascal Siakam (basketball) – £30.1m 

70=. Russell Wilson (American football) – £30.1m

70=. Sadio Mane (football) – £30.1m

73. CJ McCollum (basketball) – £30.1m

74. Jrue Holiday (basketball) – £30m

75. Zion Williamson (basketball) – £29.8m

76=. Gerrit Cole (baseball) – £27.7m 

76=. Corey Seager (baseball) – £29.7m

78. Karl-Anthony Towns (basketball) – £29.5m

79=. Carlos Correa (baseball) – £29.3m

79=. Josh Allen (American football) – £29.3m

81. Kristaps Porzingis (basketball) – £29.1m

82. Brandon Ingram (basketball) – £28.6m

83=. Riyad Mahrez (football) – £28.5m

83=. Robert Lewandowski (football) – £28.5m

85. Chris Lindstrom (American football) – £28.4m

86. Dustin Johnson (golf) – £28.3m

87. Khris Middleton (basketball) – £28m

88. Kevin de Bruyne (football) – £27.8m

89. Michael Porter Jr. (basketball) – £26.9m

90. Orlando Brown Jr (American football) – £26.8m

91. Gordon Hayward (basketball) – £26.7m

92=. Stephen Strasburg (baseball) – £26.6m 

92=. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (basketball) – £26.6m

94. Bryce Harper (baseball) – £26.3m

95. Kirk Cousins (American football) – £26.2m

96. De’Aaron Fox (basketball) – £26.1m

97. Miguel Cabrera (baseball) – £26m

98. Bam Adebayo (basketball) – £25.9m

99=. Giancarlo Stanton (baseball) – £25.8m 

99=. Derek Carr (American football) – £25.8m

About the Author

Rob Jerram – Digital Editor

Rob specializes in the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the Ryder Cup, spending large chunks of his days reading about, writing about, and watching the tours each month.

He’s passionate about the equipment used by professional golfers and is also a font of knowledge when it comes to golf balls, golf trolleys, and golf bags, testing thousands down the years.

Rob uses a Callaway Paradym driver, TaylorMade M5 5-wood, TaylorMade P790 driving iron, Callaway Paradym irons (4-AW), TaylorMade MG3 wedges (52º, 58º), Odyssey Tri-Hot 5k Double Wide putter, and Callaway Chrome Soft X golf ball.

You can email Rob or get in touch with him on X.