Codie SanchezFounder @ Contrarian Thinking

The richest athlete in the world is.....

29 Jul 2025 · 1 min

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Codie Sanchez (YouTube) explains that the richest athletes derive the bulk of their wealth from ownership stakes and endorsement businesses rather than sports paychecks. She cites examples and numbers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Steph Curry, Tyson Fury, and Dak Prescott are high earners in a single year, but Roger Federer (via a 3% stake in On Running) is listed at #2 and Michael Jordan tops the list with an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion—most from the Nike Jordan brand.

Questions this video answers

$156 million

$275 million

$146 million

$137 million

3% stake in On Running

Chapters

Who's the richest athlete in the world? You might think it's Steph Curry, as he topped NBA earnings at 156 million. Nope. Or maybe Cristiano Ronaldo, the richest soccer player in the world, earning 275 million this year alone. Wrong again. Nor is it the British heavyweight Tyson Fury, who made 146 million from fights and endorsements, or Dak Prescott, the NFL player raking in 137 mil in one year. In fact, none of these guys are even in the top two because the richest athletes aren't rich from sports. At number two, we've got Roger Federer. He made most of his fortune not on the court, but with his 3% stake in on running helping him reach billionaire status. And at number one, we got Michael Jordan, with a net worth of 3.5 billion. And the majority of that came from Nike's Jordan brand, not basketball. It turns out the richest athletes understand the importance of ownership, too.