Billionaire Michael Jordan tops all-time athlete earnings

Michael Jordan has earned more money than any athlete in history, and he earned more of it last year than any active athlete did.

Sportico’s ranking of the highest-paid athletes of all time puts his career earnings at $3.28 billion, or $4.5 billion adjusted for inflation. He took an estimated $275 million in 2025, most of it from Nike.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the highest-paid active athlete, made $260 million over the same period.

The gap is widening rather than closing. Jordan’s lead over Tiger Woods grew from $850 million to $1.31 billion in a single year, and Woods sits second at $2.88 billion. Ronaldo is third at $2.52 billion, LeBron James fourth at $2.03 billion and Lionel Messi fifth at $1.99 billion.

Jordan last played professional basketball in 2003.

What produces the money is a contract signed in 1984, when he entered the National Basketball Association and agreed terms with Nike that gave him a share of every item sold under his name. Jordan Brand generated $7.3 billion in Nike’s 2025 financial year, and he takes a cut of all of it.

That revenue fell 16% over the year, and he still out-earned everybody.

The methodology counts salaries, endorsements and business arrangements tied directly to sporting celebrity. Athletes from eight sports appear in the top 50, with basketball the most heavily represented, and the list includes Shaquille O’Neal at $1.27 billion, Kobe Bryant at $1.11 billion, Kevin Durant at $1.07 billion, Stephen Curry at $950 million and Russell Westbrook at $665 million.

Jordan owns a NASCAR team, 23XI Racing, which Sportico notes does not generate much cash.

The ranking makes an argument about how athletes get rich. The men at the top did not earn it from playing. They earned it from owning a share of what their names sell, and Jordan negotiated that arrangement at 21, before he had played a professional game.