The Two Nigerians On Forbes List Of World’s Highest Paid Athletes 2023

The Two Nigerians On Forbes List Of World’s Highest Paid Athletes 2023

 

FORBES– The cutoff for the top 50 this year is $45.2 million, up an astonishing 20% from the previous record of $37.6 million, set just last year. In all, the 50 athletes hauled in an estimated $3.44 billion over the last 12 months before taxes and agents’ fees, up 16% from last year’s record of $2.97 billion.

 

Of that new total, $2.36 billion came on the field in the form of salaries, bonuses and prize money—an all-time high, of course, smashing 2022’s $1.91 billion thanks in part to the Middle Eastern money pouring into sports. The off-field figure of $1.08 billion—from athletes’ endorsements, appearances, licensing and memorabilia income, and other business endeavors—is also a new high, edging 2022’s $1.06 billion.

#11 Giannis Antetokounmpo $87.6M

Athlete, NBA

 

– In December 2020, Antetokounmpo signed a five-year, $228 million supermax extension with the Bucks, with an opt-out after the fourth year.

– Antetokounmpo was named the NBA’s MVP for 2018-19 and 2019-20 and was also defensive player of the year for the latter season.

– The first MVP nod triggered huge bonuses from sponsors like Nike, which extended its deal with the Greek Freak in 2017.

– Nike released the Zoom Freak 1 in 2019; it was the largest initial signature shoe launch in Nike basketball history.

– Disney secured a deal in 2020 to develop a movie around Antetokounmpo’s life, along the lines of “The Blind Side.” The film, titled “Rise,” was released on Disney+ in June 2022.

 

Sponsors

Amazon, Breitling, Come Ready Foods LLC, Epic Games, Google, JBL, Meta, Nike, Unilever

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#28 Anthony Joshua

$53M

Athlete, Boxing

 

– Joshua won his first 22 pro fights and was a world heavyweight champion from 2016 to 2019, until a stunning loss to Andy Ruiz Jr.

– The Brit avenged the loss later in 2019 with a unanimous decision. He lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022 but got back on track with a win over Jermaine Franklin in April 2023.

– He has a massive social media following, with 26 million followers across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.