Ronaldo, Taylor Swift, LeBron, Messi among those earning more than Dodgers' new star
After the Los Angeles Dodgers signed two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to a reported ten-year, $700 million contract on December 11, many claimed that was the most lucrative deal in sports history.
It was certainly eye-popping for Major League Baseball, going beyond the next largest one, a 12-year, $426.5 million payout to former Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout. But since Ohtani is deferring $680 million until after 2033 to help the Dodgers sign other players, the contract's value is something like $460 million due to inflation. Ohtani will not receive interest on the higher payments after 2033. Trout's money is not postponed.
So the largest contract in sports history is still by soccer star Lionel Messi, who signed a whopping $674 million deal over just four years with Barcelona that ended in 2021. There was a relatively small deferment of about $63 million that will be paid through 2025, making the contract's actual value something like $635 million, or $159 million per year. Messi, who signed with Major League Soccer's Inter Miami team in 2023, will amass $135 million this year, with $65 million from the club's contract.
Fellow soccer stud Cristiano Ronaldo is in the midst of another contract that is more lucrative than Ohtani's. He will take in some $260 million - including about $60 million in endorsements - in 2023 after relocating to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr club on a $536 million deal over 2.5 years. He also makes as much as $2 million per social media post to market products or brands as an influencer. And none of Ronaldo's current contract is deferred.
Despite making that much, Ronaldo took a former club to court to try to winmore money. He is not Ohtani.
Soccer is considered an inferior sport by many in the United States. But these figures show that parents aren't off base in encouraging their children to kick balls, rather than pass, catch, throw or hit them.
The new Dodger's deal is closer to one signed by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a ten-year, $450 million contract. When you add endorsements and business investments, other athletes will make more than Ohtani. This year, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will net almost $120 million.
And when you look at what top actors, directors, musicians, and business executives make each year, Ohtani ranks well down on the list of the highest paid people. Fashion and cosmetic czar Bernard Arnault saw his net worth rise a whopping $53 billion in 2023. Tech and car mogul Elon Musk experienced a decline in 2023 but larger gain in 2022. Amazon titan Jeff Bezos dropped in net worth in both 2022 and 2023, but he's still doing fine.
Taylor Swift's, Tyler Perry's, and Steven Spielberg's 2023 earnings easily go beyond Ohtani's. As they say in show biz, it's all relative.
Here are the figures for the highest paid individuals:
Person, industry..... 2023 or 2022 earnings in millions .... Details Elon Musk, business ...... $68,000 ..... buying Twitter put only a slight dent in his worth Bernard Arnault, business ..... $53,000 ..... owns fashion, cosmetic firms Michael Bloomberg, media .... $12,500 .... founder of financial media giant Jim Walton, retail .... $6,000 ..... Walmart stock holder, bank CEO Jerry Jones, football team owner ..... $2,700 .... president of Dallas Cowboys Mark Cuban, business, TV host .... $300 .... will climb in 2024 after selling Mavericks Michael Jordan, business .... $300 .... will also rise after selling Hornets Sundar Pichai, tech ..... $280.6 ..... CEO of Google took $276.6m in stock awards Cristiano Ronaldo, soccer .... $260 .... $200m alone from Saudi team Al Nassr Oprah Winfrey, media .... $200 ..... Cable company owner, talk show host Tyler Perry, acting .... $175 .... dressing as a woman really paid off Steven Spielberg, filmmaking .... $150 .... highest grossing film director Michael Rapino, business .... $139 .... CEO of entertainment and ticket sales business Live Nation took $117m in stock options Lionel Messi, soccer.... $135 .... $65m from MSL's Inter Miami Taylor Swift, music .... $120 ..... 2023 tour grosses more than $4 billion LeBron James, basketball .... $119.5 ..... $49m from NBA's Lakers, more from business investments, endorsements Neymar, soccer .... $112 .... $100m from Saudi team Al Hilal Kylian Mbappé, soccer .... $110 .... $90m from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain Canelo Alvaraz, boxing ..... $110 .... less than one-third from endorsements Dustin Johnson, golf .... $107 ..... defected to Saudi LIV Golf Karim Benzema, soccer .... $106 .... $100m from Saudi team Al Ittihad Phil Mickelson, golf .... $106 .... another making more with LIV Golf Stephen Curry, basketball .... $100.4 .... about half from endorsements Brad Pitt, acting .... $100 .... more producing than acting lately Roger Federer, tennis .... $95.1 .... mostly from endorsements James Cameron, filmmaking .... $95 .... second highest grossing film director Kevin Durant, basketball .... $89.1 ..... don't sleep on shoe contracts Bad Bunny, music .... $88 ..... besides music, invests in a basketball team and restaurant Shohei Ohtani, baseball .... $80 ..... $50m in endorsements, 2024 earnings will be something like $52m due to deferments Patrick Mahomes, football .... $62.5 .... $20m in endorsements Sources: Forbes, company SEC reports
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