STATIONS
  • All Music Stations
  • All News & Talk Stations
  • All Sports Stations
 
  • Stations by City
  • All Stations
Partners
  • Fox News
  • CBS News
  • NBC News
Music
  • All Music Stations
  • Music News
  • Pop
  • Alternative
  • Latino
 
  • Country
  • Rock
  • Classic Rock
  • Hip-Hop and R&B
EVENTS
  • LIVE Performances
NEWS
  • All News Stations
  • Latino News
 
  • NBC News
  • Fox News
  • CBS News
Sports
  • All Sports Stations
  • Sports News
  • NFL
  • MLB
  • NBA
  • NHL
 
  • NCAA Football
  • Sports Betting
Originals
  • Baseball Isn’t Boring
  • Reception Perception
  • Kickoff with Boomer
BetQL Network
  • Listen Live
  • Watch Live
  • BetMGM The Daily Tip
  • BetQL Daily
  • BetMGM Tonight
All Podcasts
  • The Sunshine Place
  • Gone South
  • Fly on the Wall
  • We Can Do Hard Things
  • Impolitic with John Heile
 
  • Otherworld
  • The Moth
  • Office Ladies
  • Gets Interesting
  • History That Doesn’t Suck
 
  • High Strange
  • Search Engine
  • Start Here
  • Jill on Money
  • Baseball Isn’t Boring
 
  • Tony Kornheiser Show
  • Fantasy Football Today
  • Fantasy Baseball Today
  • Cash The Ticket
  • You Better You Bet
 
  • Go Birds
  • Battleground America
  • On Deadline
Where to Listen
  • About Audacy
  • Get the Audacy App
  • More Ways to Listen
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
  • FAQ
  • Find Us on X
  • Contact Customer Support
STAY IN TOUCH
  • Follow Us on Social
  • Advertise With Us
More from Audacy
  • #ImListening
  • 1Thing
  • Contests
  • Contest Rules
  • All Music Stations
  • All News & Talk Stations
  • All Sports Stations
  • Stations by City
  • All Stations
  • Fox News
  • CBS News
  • NBC News
  • All Music Stations
  • Music News
  • Pop
  • Alternative
  • Latino
  • Country
  • Rock
  • Classic Rock
  • Hip-Hop and R&B
  • LIVE Performances
  • All News Stations
  • Latino News
  • NBC News
  • Fox News
  • CBS News
  • All Sports Stations
  • Sports News
  • NFL
  • MLB
  • NBA
  • NHL
  • NCAA Football
  • Sports Betting
  • Baseball Isn’t Boring
  • Reception Perception
  • Kickoff with Boomer
  • Listen Live
  • Watch Live
  • BetMGM The Daily Tip
  • BetQL Daily
  • BetMGM Tonight
  • The Sunshine Place
  • Gone South
  • Fly on the Wall
  • We Can Do Hard Things
  • Impolitic with John Heile
  • Otherworld
  • The Moth
  • Office Ladies
  • Gets Interesting
  • History That Doesn’t Suck
  • High Strange
  • Search Engine
  • Start Here
  • Jill on Money
  • Baseball Isn’t Boring
  • Tony Kornheiser Show
  • Fantasy Football Today
  • Fantasy Baseball Today
  • Cash The Ticket
  • You Better You Bet
  • Go Birds
  • Battleground America
  • On Deadline
  • About Audacy
  • Get the Audacy App
  • More Ways to Listen
  • FAQ
  • Find Us on X
  • Contact Customer Support
  • Follow Us on Social
  • Advertise With Us
  • #ImListening
  • 1Thing
  • Contests
  • Contest Rules
97.3 The Fan logo
    • Complete Schedule
    • Ben & Woods
    • The Braden Surprenant Show
    • Gwynn & Chris
    • The Skraby Show
    • Padres How-To-Listen
    • Ben & Woods On Demand
    • Gwynn & Chris On Demand
    • The Skraby Show
    • The Braden Surprenant Show On Demand
    • 97.3 The Fan On Demand
    • Inside San Diego Baseball with Sam Levitt
    • San Diego Padres
    • San Diego State Aztecs
    • Sports Betting
    • NCAA Basketball
    • NCAA Football
    • NFL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Contests
    • Contests Rules
    • Events
    • Photo Galleries
    • Traffic
    • Weather
    • Join The Club
    • 1Thing Sustainability
    • Top Stories
    • I'm Listening San Diego
    • Living Better in San Diego
    • Advertise With Us
  • audio from 97.3 The Fan

    • Live
    • Podcasts
  • Ask your smart speaker to play

    Ninety Seven Three the Fan

Home
97.3 The Fan The 11 Highest-Paid Athletes of 2019 and Their Net Worths

The 11 Highest-Paid Athletes of 2019 and Their Net Worths

By Eldis Sula, Audacy

Not every story about athletes and their finances has to be a cautionary tale. in June, Forbes released their coveted annual list of the highest-paid athletes in the world.

Unsurprising given the public's obsession around contract buzz and inked deals, the cutoff to make this year's list of top 100 earners was $25 million, inflated from $17.3 million five years ago. But what will really make you green is the top of the list, and not what this talented group earned this year, but how much they're worth altogether.

lionel mesi on the field
Photo credit Getty Images

1 Lionel Messi: $400 Million Net Worth

The Barcelona forward from Argentina earned $127 million so far this year. Between his 13 year tenure on the team and a lifelong deal with Adidas, it's no surprise that his net worth is estimated at $400 million.

cristiano ronaldo saluting fans
Photo credit Getty Images

2 Cristiano Ronaldo: $450 Million Net Worth

When Ronaldo joined Juventus last year after nine seasons with Real Madrid, the team sold 520,000 of his jerseys in the first 24 hours. That's $60 million worth. Even after forking over a $21 million tax evasion fine in January, Ronaldo's not doing too bad with his net worth of $450 million. So far this year he's earned $109 million.

Neymar deep in thought
Photo credit Getty Images

3 Neymar: $185 Million Net Worth

It should come as no shock that the top three earning athletes all play soccer, the most popular international sport with 4 billion fans. it's been a good year for the Paris Saint-Germain player, who's earned $105 million in 2019 and has a net worth estimated at $185 million.

canelo alvarez in the ring
Photo credit Getty Images

4 Canelo Alvarez: $100 Million Net Worth

So far the boxing champion has pulled in $94 million this year, with an estimated net worth of $100 million. The Mexican fighter's price is only going up, having pocketed $50 million combined for his first two fights on streaming service DAZN, and slated to collect at least $35 per fight in the future.

roger federer celebrating victory
Getty Images

5 Roger Federer: $450 Million Net Worth

Federer just missed out on the top spot at Wimbledon, but he's doing alright regardless. After coming in as the highest paid athlete in 2018, he brought in $93.8 million this year, $86 million of which was endorsements alone.

russell wilson running a play
Photo credit Getty Images

6 Russell Wilson: $115 Million Net Worth

On the heels of a four-year, $140 million contract extension with the Seahawks that he signed in April of this year, Wilson is the highest paid NFL player.

aaron rodgers thinking about life
Photo credit Getty Images

7 Aaron Rodgers: $120 Million Net Worth

The man who can move the line is inking deals left and right, having signed a four-year $135 million contract in August 2018 as well as purchasing a minority ownership stake in the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. So far this year he's earned $89.3 million.

lebron james getting ready to play
Photo credit Getty Images

8 Lebron James: $450 Million Net Worth

The man that's such a legend you can study him at Harvard moved to LA when he signed a $153 million four-year deal with the Lakers last year. On top of his league-leading endorsement deals, Lebron has a couple newer revenue drivers that may have brought him to Hollywood: his production company SpringHill Entertainment and media company Uninterrupted.

steph curry on the court
Photo credit Getty Images

9 Steph Curry: $90 Million Net Worth

The two-time MVP earned $79.8 million so far this year, and like many of the athletes on the list, is bringing in as much if not more off the court than on, with his own investment company, as well as a production company working with Sony and which just released its first movie Breakthrough in April.

kevin durant smiling during game
Photo credit Getty Images

10 Kevin Durant: $170 Million Net Worth

One of the NBA's top post-season head-turners is one of the league's top earners, having brought in $65.4 million this year. Spreading his wings after three undervalued contracts with the Warriors, Durant just signed a whopping $164 million four-year contract with the Brooklyn Nets.

tiger woods contemplating his next swing
Photo credit Getty Images

11 Tiger Woods: $800 Million Net Worth

He may be lower on the list of this year's earners with $63.9 million so far for the year. But Tiger's sitting pretty at a net worth of $800 million, a cumulation of his being #1 on the annual list 12 times.

  • Cristiano Ronaldo
  • Lionel Messi
  • Soccer
  • NFL
  • NBA
  • Lebron James
  • Net Worth
  • Roger Federer
  • Steph Curry
  • Kevin Durant
  • RDC Sports Gallery

LATEST in sports

  • Padres lose to Twins 7-4
  • Padres reliever Mason Miller talks about his trade and pushing for the postseason
  • Xander Bogaerts placed on 10-day IL
  • Padres Assistant GM Josh Stein On A Friar Friday!
  • Sports San Diego CEO Mark Neville Joins Braden
×
97.3 The Fan  |  
San Diego’s #1 Sports Station
  1. Contact Us
  2. Join the Club
  3. EEO
  4. Public Inspection File
  5. FCC Applications
  6. Advertise with Us
© 2025 Audacy, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PART OF RADIO.COM SPORTS.

listen

  • Listen Live
  • Mobile App

connect

  • FAQ
  • 1Thing
  • Get My PERKS
  • #ImListening
  • Contact Us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertise with Us
  • Audacy Corporate Site

legal

  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Copyright Notice
  • Music Submission Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Info
  • Public File Help
© 2025 Audacy, Inc. All rights reserved. Part of Audacy.
!