Fortunes: The 10 Highest-Paid Athletes of All Time – La Nouvelle Tribune

The ranking published by Sportico reveals that Michael Jordan is the highest-paid athlete of all time with $4.5 billion in cumulative earnings. Tiger Woods and Cristiano Ronaldo follow with $2.88 billion and $2.52 billion, respectively. Ronaldo, the only active athlete in the top three, generated $260 million in 2025 through his contract with Al-Nassr. LeBron James and Lionel Messi complete the top five with earnings of $2.03 billion and $1.99 billion.