Blog

Do you want to know how much dough the different sports collect? Let’s roll into the top 10 highest paid sports in the world for 2024!

Sports have become a part of a program widely viewed all around the world, and millions of audiences and raking in multibillion revenues.

In 2024 several sports reaped in for its players astronomical revenues through high-value sponsorship deals and endorsement deals besides broadcasting rights.

Such finances would, therefore, be manifestations of the popularity of the sport and the great talent and marketability that the players bring to it.

It is from the thundering arenas of teamwork in sports to solitary brilliance in individual competition, because the highest-paid sports continue to attract top talent and massive investments.

Here we will scan through the top 10 highest paid sports in the world of 2024 where athletes rake in millions for their unparalleled performances as well as the entertainment they give.

Top 10 Highest Paid Sports In The World 2024

10 Ice Hockey

By making pockets pretty impressive and with big sponsorship deals, sports like Ice Hockey feature among the highest-paid sports worldwide, especially in 2024.

This has mainly been brought about by multi-million dollar deals that come along, which has highly contributed due to its popularity in North America and parts of Europe. National Hockey League – The most popular association for the ice hockey game.

Among its ranks are some of the wealthiest sports personalities such as superstars Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews who have signed deals worth more than $12 million annually, excluding endorsement deals.

Since ice hockey requires physicality, speed, and skill to be superb at it, it has turned out to be one of the hardest sports to follow, but more exciting to watch at the same time.

That has made its financial appeal fantastic with an overall revenue buildup through high-grossing TV broadcasting rights and big sponsorship deals.

Hockey players also create lucrative endorsement opportunities, especially by brands which market equipment and sportswear up to lifestyle products.

Besides, hockey sport engagement with international events, such as for example the Winter Olympics, makes its elite members more widely known around the globe and that contributes to more revenues.

Thus, ice hockey continues to remain at the forefront of sporting activities while remaining the only sport with the highest pay on earth.

9 Baseball

Baseball, more so in America, stands out as one of the best-paid sporting franchises until 2024.

Major League Baseball remains generous with its most talented players, signing them up for huge multi-year contracts and in certain cases, deals worth more than $400 million.

With the guarantees of a contract, baseball players have long-term financial security-not a benefit as common to most participants in most other sports.

High revenue because of the huge fan base in North America, Japan, and Latin America, where baseball is a source of great cultural pride lends an enormous financial attraction to the sport.

Large-scale ticketing revenue, feasible TV deals, and humongous merchandising revenue help offset the heavy salary bills of baseball players. Players also receive endorsement deals with big brands besides their salaries, thereby multiplying their pocket money many times.

Although baseball’s international expansion has not been as spectacular as most other sports, such as football, the established leagues of baseball keep it a truly economic force.

And as the popularity of the game grows with each passing season, its best players are handsomely paid, making baseball one of the most rewarding careers in the sporting world.

8 Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed martial arts is probably one of the fastest-growing fields across the globe and its superstars become among the most highly paid as 2024 draws near.

To a large extent, the rise of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Professional Fighters League has in fact contributed much to fueling the potential of MMA fighters for much bigger paydays, including those achieved from pay-per-view events.

Mega superstars like Conor McGregor and Israel Adesanya, through their fights, collect millions of dollars for each fight. Conor has reportedly been quoted over $100 million for just one fight by revenue from the PPV and sponsorship deals.

Instead, MMA fighters collect remittances in dollars from purses won in their fights, bonuses, and endorsements. The sport had sent more dough into the pockets of the glorious world of MMA promotions as part of major television deals and high-profile sponsorship agreements from the growing global fan base, especially in the U.S., Brazil, Russia, and other parts of Asia.

Today, top-tier fighters now come often normal with fitness brands, apparel companies, or even lifestyle products endorsement. The MMA spectacle, with mixed fighting styles and always unpredictable outcomes, has been an exciting wonder to many in the audience.

Being a growing sport, the pay that fighters receive is escalating and makes sure MMA will continue to be big in the world of high-paid sports.

7 Auto Racing (F1/NASCAR)

Auto racing, specifically Formula 1 and NASCAR, will be one of the best-paid sports in the world in 2024.

Two of the world’s richest sportsmen there currently are of course Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, who earn more than $50 million a year excluding performance bonuses and some attractive endorsement deals.

F1 enjoys massive following in dozens of countries in Europe, Asia, and North America in contrast to the NASCAR-based media market of the United States. Revenues from large sponsorship and broadcasting deals also make F1’s elite its highest-paid.

Of course, the pay scale of NASCAR drivers is a little bit lower but, nonetheless, Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin are making millions of dollars through racing, sponsorships, and merchandising.

Both F1 and NASCAR have massive fan loyalty that attracts enormous viewing audiences to mega events such as the Monaco Grand Prix and the Daytona 500.

Auto racing happens to be the most lucrative career for its drivers by having high-profile races and kind of technical skills required for such races.

In addition to all this money pouring directly into their pockets from salary and winnings, top drivers reap enormous endorsement deals with automobile brands, luxury goods companies, as well as companies specializing in tech.

Combining these race earnings and sponsorships guarantees that auto racing is one of the world’s most financially rewarding sports.

6 Tennis

With Tennis probably being the most lucrative sport in the world, the 2024 season will witness the crème of the crop playing for millions of dollars with tournaments, endorsements, and sponsorships.

Given the global status, especially with events such as Wimbledon, the US Open, and Roland Garros, it will set the athlete on a pedestal to compete for multi-million prize pools.

Such players as Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Iga Świątek top lists, not so much for good performances on court but also for huge sponsorships.

Tennis is special because personal glory and financial freedom are bestowed; the players will determine how much they earn depending on their performance in the grand tournaments.

The sport avails huge opportunities in endorsement for brands; the player endorses top-of-the-range brands, sports equipment manufacturers, and also multinationals.

Players like Roger Federer and Serena Williams have more of a business empire created outside of tennis through brand endorsement that is far more impactful than winning the tournament.

This ensures the tennis stars in Europe, North America, and Asia continue to rake in steady incomes from endorsement deals.

Moreover, tennis remains almost one of the few sporting activities where individuals can win equally competitive pay, as is witnessed through female players like Naomi Osaka becoming some of the highest-paid athletes in the world.

5 Soccer

Moving into 2024, Soccer-or football as it is called almost everywhere else in the world-is one of the world’s most sought after and highest paying games.

Its superstars, including Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo, bank over £100 million through those fat clubs and monster endorsement deals.

As it is with thousands of football fans across the world in Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia, the sport undoubtedly is a business boom.

This means that some of the leagues considered quite rich include the gigantic EPL, La Liga, and even the Saudi Pro League.

Other than what they receive from clubs, the endorsement contracts with the likes of Nike, Adidas, and other luxury firms just comprise a considerable percentage of total earnings of soccer players.

Players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have pocketed hundreds of millions purely from endorsements. Such deals cut across not only sports clothing firms but also perfume companies and even cryptocurrency ventures.

But beyond the above-average cost of wages, awards to the players from the prestige tournaments of the sport, that is FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League, increase rewards even higher.

With its vast global reach coupled with special marketability, soccer is a game followed by more people all over the world, making it also one of the most financially remunerative for their stars.

4 Golf

Golf will also remain one of the most well-paying games in the world and, for its superstars, one of the most rewarding careers all possible by 2024.

Take golf superstars like Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler or even Jon Rahm who take millions in prize money from each tournament while major championships at The Masters, the Open Championship, and the U.S. Open have multi-million dollar prize pools.

In addition, new entrant LIV Golf has increased earnings further by its overpaying as it promises super mountings for winning tournaments and participation.

In extra to prize money they earn on tour, golf stars also earn tremendous endorsement monies from clothing, luxury, and equipment companies.

Marketing masters like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have mini-empires off the course, primarily created with lifetime deals with such marquee brands as Nike, Rolex, and Callaway. For many golfers, it is indeed the work they do off the course that is worth more than money in the bank.

Golf has an international appeal that enables golfers to take pride in their influence and wealth opportunities, especially in markets such as the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

It will also be broadcast around the world and closely associated with wealth and prestige, thus making golfers top earners not only in terms of high-tournament earnings but long-term financial security that comes along with endorsement deals.

3 American Football

Pay for American football is among the best of any sport by far, as of 2024, primarily due to the NFL.

Some stars of the big games Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, and Dak Prescott-can pull down tens of millions a year; Mahomes signed a ten-year contract reportedly worth as much as $503 million.

Much money is earned by the NFL on television contracts, merchandise, and tickets. Well, very considerable earnings come to the best among the league’s stars.

For instance, the American football financial environment is slightly different from traditional employment, given that the players are eligible for both performance bonuses and signing bonuses, besides wages.

In reality, many sportswear companies, the automobile industry, and technology companies try to be associated with the NFL stars whose endorsement will bring multi-million dollar endorsement deals. Such stars as Tom Brady even had a chance to create a brand that extended beyond the football field.

Meanwhile, for most of the players, this would be a chance to play in one of the world’s best-covered sporting events, the Super Bowl, and thus access an incredibly large audience and likely raise endorsement contracts, too, as well as public awareness.

American football is, therefore, a highly profitable sport as its best players are typically among the best-paid people on earth, reflecting both cultural and commercial merits.

2 Boxing

Boxing is among the sporting disciplines that are at the top regarding pay levels in 2024 and attracts all top athletes who take unbelievable amounts, both within the ring and outside.

Such marquee fighters like Canelo Álvarez, Tyson Fury, and Errol Spence Jr., have collected multi-million dollar purses in each fight.

Marquee events attract hundreds of millions in revenue through pay-per-view sales. For example, Canelo earned more than $40 million in purse for each bout, plus endorsement and performance bonuses, making him compete with other top-earning sportsmen in the discipline.

In boxing, however, the monetary compensation differs since a purse of a fight is bargained to include more than just his purses of fights but also cut in pay-per-view receipts.

Huge crowds attracted by big matches would also open their wallets even wider as the fighters look to maximize their money from their event.

Largely infrequent mega-fights with Mayweather or Pacquiao can garner unprecedented revenues, thereby winning them huge amounts of money from a single bout.

The income from fights is supplemented by great sponsorship with sports-related, nutrition product endorsement deals, and lifestyle products the fighters earn.

This sport continues to ensure athletic talents with great gainful financial success and celebrity status: a perfect fit of skill, entertainment, and commercial appeal. Boxing is number 2 in our list of top 10 highest paid sports in the world in 2024.

1 Basketball

Basketball is one of the best-paid games in the world for 2024. Superstars within the NBA earn astronomical salaries.

For instance, some superstars such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant take home more than $40 million per year or contracts with value over $200 million.

The NBA puts this appreciation for sensational earnings together with highly valued television rights and contracted sponsors.

Apart from these salaries, basketball superstars have numerous endorsement deals with the giant company, including Nike, Adidas, and Gatorade. These deals go to some serious money a player would earn.

For example, LeBron James can earn as much as $80 million in a year merely based on endorsement deals alone. The buzz of basketball in the markets of China and Europe adds to the marketability of the top player and hence constitutes another source of revenue.

Besides, the glamour of the NBA is heightened much more by the more focused and highly profiled events like the NBA Finals and the All-Star Game where millions watch them all over the world and thus promotes the players.

Combining huge paychecks with endorsement deals, and worldwide appeal, cement basketball one of the most lucrative sports in the world to guarantee that its stars amass outstanding financial gains and celebrity.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. If you click on certain links we may make a commission. Learn More.