No Female Athletes Made It Into the 100 Highest-Paid Athletes in the World

Sportico recently revealed the top 100 highest-paid athletes for 2024, and one thing is missing: female athletes. Despite record-breaking seasons and growing fanbases, no women cracked the list this year, as the earning race tells of an all-male showdown.

Combining earnings, winning and off-field endorsements, this year’s top 100 athletes, from 27 countries across eight different sports, earned a mighty $6.2 billion combined. 

The list is topped for the second year running by Portugal and Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who netted himself a cool $260 million in 2024, primarily from his lucrative $215 million Al-Nassr contract. Second on the list, Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors, Basketball), who earned $153.8 million, is as close to 1^st place Ronaldo as he is to 54^th place Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs, American Football). The list is mostly dominated by athletes competing in the MLB, NBA and NFL, with the three North American sports leagues containing 68 of the 100 highest earners.

One glaring omission from the list is the lack of female athletes, with the sports outlet reporting that Coco Gauff, the world No. 3 in women’s tennis, is the highest earning female athlete of 2024. The American tennis prodigy earned $30.4 million, falling $7.1 million short of 100^th place Daniel Jones (Minnesota Vikings, American Football). Though 2023 saw the same lack of female athletes, 2022 featured tennis greats, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, with the former cracking the top 20, thanks to her $50 million in endorsement deals that year. Both Osaka and Williams made over 90% of their earnings from endorsements, as prize winnings and salaries remain well below their male counterparts.

Still, the future for women’s sports earnings looks brighter than ever. Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs, American Football) said in 2024, “The talent, the narratives, the personalities, women’s sports has it all, and I think people are finally starting to figure that out”. Names such as Caitlin Clarke (Indiana Fever, Basketball), Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid, Football), Coco Gauff (Tennis) and Nelly Korda (Golf) are all world beaters in their sports, drawing global attention to the next generation of female athletes.

Viewership numbers are being broken every year across women’s sports, and with eyes comes money. TV deals and sponsorships drive the men’s sports, and they can do the same for this new era of female stars. It’s only a matter of time before a new wave of female athletes cashes in and claims some well-deserved spots among the world’s highest paid stars.