International 20
By Daniel Roberts
With endorsement king of the world David Beckham now retired, Cristiano Ronaldo takes the top spot—but not by much. Lionel Messi, whose salary was just increased to exceed Ronaldo’s, is close on his heels despite having far less in endorsement money. Soccer salaries are up, up, up, all across the board, which is why tennis stars Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka missed the cut.
As with the U.S. list, the salaries we list are pre-tax, which is particularly important to note when looking at the soccer numbers (depending on where they live, many players get hit hard by income tax). Our soccer salaries refer to the player’s current annual salary. F1 driver earnings come from Formula Money and refer to the 2013 calendar year. Golf tournament winnings are from May 5, 2013 (the Wells Fargo Championship) through April 20, 2014 (the RBC Heritage). Boxing purses are from the 2014 calendar year (and include projected money from bouts that will happen this year).
The Top Ten
Cristiano Ronaldo
Making 17 million euros per year (after taxes), Ronaldo was the highest paid soccer player in the world until just last month, when Barcelona gave Lionel Messi a raise. For now, Ronaldo's got the lower pay but the richer endorsement stable of the two superstars. Nike, Tag Heuer, Herbalife, Banco Espirito Santo, Samsung, Toyota and Konami all spend to endorse the striker.
Lionel Messi
In a sport where new deals keep one-upping the old (every few months it seems like a new player signs a record contract), Messi is, for now, top dog after he signed a new contract in May that reportedly will pay him 20 million euros (after taxes), which is (just barely) higher than Ronaldo's pay. Add that to his endorsement deals with Adidas, Pepsi, Gillette, Herbalife and Turkish Airlines, which will only multiply if he can help Argentina win the World Cup.
Rafael Nadal
Even though a lot of attention in tennis is on young blood like Djokovic and Murray, Nadal was the sport's biggest moneymaker in 2013, with $14.57 million in ATP World Tour winnings. He's got lucrative endorsement deals with Nike, Babolat, Richard Mile, KIA, Mapfre, Banco Sabadell and Poker Stars -- many of which included big bonuses for tournament wins.
Roger Federer
If you were looking only at on-the-court tournament earnings from last year, you'd think Federer had completely fallen off the map. But he's been dominant for so long that he's still comfortably at the top of tennis-world fame. With $35 million a year in endorsements from Nike, Wilson, Rolex, National Suisse, Moet, Mercedes, Lindt, Jura, Credit Suisse, and Gillette, Fed remains the sport's biggest global ambassador.
Fernando Alonso
With Michael Schumacher no longer racing, Alonso is the highest-paid active F1 driver in the world. His deals with Oakley, Europcar, Viceroy and others only make him some $3 million, but the 32-year-old Spaniard is often credited with making the sport big in his home country.
