According to Forbes, Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is the second highest-paid athlete between May 1, 2024 and May 1, 2025.
Curry made $156 million, of which $100 million was away from basketball. LeBron James is the second highest basketball player on the list, with ticket prices of $138 million, ranking sixth in total.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a high-paying athlete, a huge $275 million provided by his huge contract for his campaign in Saudi Arabia.
Only Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani earned the Curry revenue in recognition.
The only basketball player to enter the top 10 is Kevin Durant’s $11.4 million. He made $51.4 million on the court and $50 million from it.
The top 30 players in other basketball players are Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 13) and teammate Damian Lillard (No. 29). The other 10 players ranked in the top 50. Anthony Edwards is the third highest-paid athlete under the age of 25.
The total number of the top 50 this year reached US$4.23 billion, the highest last year was US$3.88 billion.
The NBA ranks the top 50 for Forbes
No 16 sports are more representative on the roster than basketball. The closest thing is American football with 13 NFL players.
Although Ronaldo, Lionel Messi (fifth) and Karim Benzema (8th) have three of the football team, only five other representatives.
Here is a list of all basketball players and their earnings. 11 of 16 are American.
$156 million – Steph Curry (second place)
$133.8 million – LeBron James (Sixth)
$101.4 million – Kevin Durant (10th place)
$94.4 million – Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 13)
$67.5 million – Damian Lillard (No. 29)
$62.1 million – Anthony Edwards (No. 33)
$61.2 million – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 35)
$600.4 million – Joel Embiid (No. 36)
$59.8 million – Jimmy Butler (No. 37)
$58.5 million – Luka Doncic (No. 38)
$58.3 million – Devin Booker (No. 39)
$58.2 million – Bradley Beal (No. 40)
$57.6 million – Nikola Jokic (No. 41)
$57.3 million – Kawhi Leonard (42nd)
$56.3 million – Paul George (No. 43)
$55.8 million – Jayson Tatum (No. 44)
With the way NBA salary is expected to continue to upgrade in the coming years, it wouldn't be surprising only if the growth dominance is going to be.
The league has reached a huge broadcast rights agreement that begins next season, which is where more contracts will go into the scope of eligibility.
