Stephen Curry Beats LeBron James And Lionel Messi; Among 4 NBA Stars In Top 20 World’s Highest Paid Athletes

Stephen Curry beats the likes of LeBron James, Lionel Messi, and more as he finishes second only to Cristiano Ronaldo among the world's highest-paid athletes.

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Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Stephen Curry has become the highest-paid athlete in the NBA and the second-highest in the world (after Cristiano Ronaldo) according to Forbes’ latest findings. This includes only two sources of income, like endorsements and salary. He beat LeBron James, Lionel Messi, Patrick Mahomes, and other top-tier athletes to come second on this list. 

Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo were the other two NBA stars alongside Curry and James on this list. Let’s take a look at all the stars who featured on this list:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese soccer star, playing in Saudi Arabia: $275 million

2. Stephen Curry, guard at Golden State Warriors: Earning a whopping $156 million in the 2024-25 financial year. His income here includes his massive $55.7 million salary from the Warriors, which also made him the highest-paid player in the NBA this season.

3. Tyson Fury, the former professional boxer: $146 million

4. Dak Prescott, the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys: $137 million

5. Lionel Messi, the Argentine forward playing for Inter Miami: $135 million

6. LeBron James, Small/Power Forward for the LA Lakers: James has reportedly earned $133.8 million, which includes his huge $48.7 million salary from the Lakers this season.

7. Juan Soto, the Dominican professional baseball outfielder: $114 million

8. Karim Benzema, the French soccer star: $104 million

9. Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese professional baseball designated hitter for the LA Dodgers: $102.5 million

10. Kevin Durant, power forward for the Phoenix Suns: Durant reportedly earned $101.4 million this season, including his whopping $51.1 million salary from the Suns.

11. Oleksandr Usyk, the Ukrainian professional boxer: $101 million

12. John Ram, the Spanish golf player: $100 million

13. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greek power forward for the Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis reportedly earned $94.4 million this season, which also included his $45.6 million salary from the Bucks. 

14. Scottie Schefler, the golfer: $92.5 million

15. Deshaun Watson, the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns: $91.8 million

16. Kylian Mbappe, the French striker for Real Madrid: $90 million

17. Rory McIlroy, the golfer: $87.9 million

18. Patrick Mahomes, the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs: $86.8 million

19. Jordan Love, the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers: $83 million

20. Jared Goff, the Detroit Lions’ quarterback: $80.8 million


Three Of The NBA’s Top 5 Earners Failed To Make This List

Former MVP Joel Embiid, reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, and former All-Star Bradley Beal are three of the NBA’s top five salary contracts for the season. All of them earn above $50 million just from their NBA contract. Failing to make this list means they could not generate an endorsement income of over $30 million.

For Beal, it seems understandable as he is no longer the player he once was, and hence cannot get endorsement deals as much anymore. However, the baffling situation is with Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, both of whom are tied as the second-highest earners in 2024-25 in the NBA. 

With three MVP awards in the last four seasons, Nikola Jokic may be on the verge of getting a fourth one this season. Despite him being one of the biggest names in the NBA, his not getting as many endorsement deals in the US is indeed noteworthy.

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Chaitanya Dadhwal is an NBA Analyst and Columnist at Fadeaway World from New Delhi, India. He fell in love with basketball in 2018 after seeing James Harden in his prime. He joined the sports journalism world in 2021, one year before finishing his law school in 2022. He attended Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat, India, where his favorite subject was also Sports Law.He transitioned from law to journalism after realizing his true passion for sports and basketball in particular. Even though his journalism is driven by his desire to understand both sides of an argument and give a neutral perspective, he openly admits he is biased towards the Houston Rockets and Arsenal. But that intersection of in-depth analysis and passion helps him simplify the fine print and complex language for his readers.His goal in life is to open his own sports management agency one day and represent athletes. He wants to ensure he can help bridge the gap in equal opportunity for athletes across various sports and different genders playing the same sport.
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