Messi, Ronaldo , Fury, Neymar, Hamilton, Federer: TOP 20 2022'S HIGHEST-PAID Athletes...

World Cup winner Lionel Messi has topped the Forbes highest-paid athletes list for 2022 after another fantastic year in his career.

The Argentine superstar earned more than a number of sporting stars including his regular foe Cristiano Ronaldo.

Unsurprisingly, the top 20 of the list was dominated by athletes who play in the United States, with seven of those 20 playing basketball.

But just one woman features in the 20, despite it being another outstanding year for women’s sport.

Japanese icon Naomi Osaka has her own skincare line and a number of other sponsors, but she still finds time to have an excellent career on the tennis court.

Athletes don’t just earn money from their sport, they usually earn a lot of it through endorsements and sponsorships.

LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry own their own media companies, while seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady has partnered with a cryptocurrency and also launched an NFT platform of his own.

Lionel Messi is the highest-paid athlete of 2022

Messi took a pay cut to join PSG from Barcelona in 2021, but a huge sponsorship following kept him ahead of the rest this year, as he raked in $130 million.

That was just ahead of LA Laker LeBron James, whose work off the court is perhaps more impressive as his work on the court. He takes in $121.2 million, which is $6.2 million more than current free-agent footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

His CR7 brand and his endorsement deals with many massive companies such as Nike and Herbalife keep him towards the top of the rankings.

The rest of the top 20 feature surprising names, but also names that you think should be higher.

So, without further ado, here is the rest of the list, as well as their earnings from the past year.

Who are the highest-paid athletes of 2022?

1. Lionel Messi – Football – $130 million

2. LeBron James – Basketball – $121.2 million

3. Cristiano Ronaldo – Football – $115 million

4. Neymar – Football – $95 million

5. Stephen Curry – Basketball – $92.8 million

6. Kevin Durant – Basketball – $92.1 million

7. Roger Federer – Tennis – $90.7 million

8. Canelo Alvarez – Boxing – $90 million

9. Tom Brady – American Football – $83.9 million

10. Giannis Antetokounmpo – Basketball – $80.9 million

11. Russell Westbrook – Basketball – $79.2 million

12. James Harden – Basketball – $74.4 million

13. Matthew Stafford – American Football – $72.3 million

14. Aaron Rodgers – American Football – $68 million

14. Tiger Woods – Golf – $68 million

16. Josh Allen – American Football – $67 million

17. Lewis Hamilton – Motor Racing – $65 million

18. Tyson Fury – Boxing – $62 million

19. Naomi Osaka – Tennis – $59.2 million

20. Damian Lillard – Basketball – $57.4 million