The World's Highest-Paid Athletes Of 2022 Revealed, There's A New No.1 From Last Year

The world's highest-paid athletes of 2022 have been revealed and there's a new star in the top spot.

Sportico have crunched the all-important numbers to determine the highest-paid athletes of 2022.

They've examined the athletes' salary, prize money and endorsements over the last year.

And raking in an enormous $126.9 million, LeBron James takes top spot - moving from No.5 to No.1 from the year before.

Image: PA

The NBA legend is ranked ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who earned $122 million and $115 million respectively.

Messi's club teammate Neymar ($103 million) enters the list at No.4 ahead of Canelo Alvarez and Stephen Curry.

Image: PA

Kevin Durant, Roger Federer, James Harden and Tiger Woods are ranked seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

The top ten comprises of athletes from six different countries and five different sports in the list which you can check out below.

1. LeBron James - $126.9 million
2. Lionel Messi - $122 million
3. Cristiano Ronaldo - $115 million
4. Neymar - $103 million
5. Canelo Alvarez - $89 million
6. Stephen Curry - $86.2 million
7. Kevin Durant - $85.9 million
8. Roger Federer - $85.7 million
9. James Harden - $76 million
10. Tiger Woods - $73.5 million

Image: Sportico

Conor McGregor, who was the highest-paid athlete of 2021, drops out of the top ten having not fought in the UFC since last summer.

He earned a whopping $180 million, which is more than what James received this year.

As for 'King' James, he fell well short of expectations this season, but crushed it off the court.

On the 37-year-old being the highest-paid athlete of 2022, Sportico wrote: "The 18-time All-Star earned $127 million during the past 12 months from the Lakers and his expanding off-court empire, according to Sportico estimates.

"It is the highest tally of his two-decade career and more than any other athlete on the planet."

Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Lebron James, Canelo Alvarez, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@NasJabbar