With a combined net worth of $3.3 billon, here are the top 10 highest-paid Black athletes of 2022

Determination, hard work, and top-notch performance are the attributes that pay off in the sporting world. The world’s 50 highest-paid athletes in 2022 raked in millions of dollars amounting to a mind-boggling $2.97 billion before taxes and agents’ fees, above the previous year record by 8% ($2.76 billion). The incomes came from on-field earnings (including prize money, salaries, and bonuses), and off-field earnings (including sponsorship deals, appearance fees and memorabilia, and licensing incomes).

Out of the 50 highest-paid athletes, 33 are Black athletes. The latest list from Forbes featured many notable names. Here are the top 10 highest-paid Black athletes with combined earnings of $790.2 million and an estimated combined net worth of $3.3 billion.

LeBron James

LeBron James takes the top spot with a total earning of $121.2 million, comprised of $41.2 million from salary/winnings and $80 million from endorsements. James is a basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the second highest-paid athlete in the world and the first NBA player to become a billionaire with a total net worth of $1 billion as at 23/01/2023. The 38-year-old athlete has sponsorship deals with 2K Sports, AT&T, Beats Electronics, Blaze, Pizza PepsiCo, Walmart, Calm, CRYPTO.com, GMC, Nike, and RIMOWA.

Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry is at the second spot with a total earning of $92.8 million, comprised of $45.8 million from salary/winnings and $47 million from endorsements. He occupies the fifth position in the world ranking. The 31-year-old athlete plays for the Golden State Warriors, and has sponsorship deals with 2K Sports, Callaway, Golf, CarMax, FTX, Google, Panini, Rakuten, and Under Armour. His estimated net worth is $170 million.

Kevin Durant

The 34-year-old athlete earned $92.1 million comprised of $ 42.1 million from salary/winnings and $50 million from endorsements. He is sixth on the world ranking and has sponsorship deals with 2K Sports, Coinbase, Dapper Labs, Nike, and Weedmaps. He plays for the Brooklyn Nets and has an estimated net worth of $210M.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

The 28-year-old athlete is the second-youngest athlete on this millionaire list and the youngest NBA player with a total $80.9 million earned from salary/winnings ($39.9 million) and endorsements ($41 million). The Greek-Nigerian basketball player plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. He occupied the 10th position in the world ranking. Giannis has sponsorship deals with Come Ready Foods LLC, Google, Gr. Sarantis S.A., Greek From Greek Café Cuisine, JBL, Meta, Mytilineos S.A, Nike, and TCL. His net worth is estimated at $110 million.

Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook is at the fifth position with $79.2 million from salary/winnings ($44.2 million) and endorsements ($35 million). The 34-year-old athlete plays basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers and he occupied the 11th position in the world ranking. He has sponsorship deals with Hennessy and Nike. His net worth is estimated at $210 million.

James Harden

James occupies the 6th position with a total earning of $74.4 million comprised of $44.4 million from salary/winnings and $30 million from endorsements. He occupied the 12th position in the world ranking and plays for the Philadelphia 76ers. The 33-year-old athlete has sponsorship deals with Adidas, Block Inc, Body Armor, Gopuff, Pura, Therabody, and Vanguart. His net worth is estimated at $170 million.

Tiger Woods

The 47-year-old Golf Legend earned $68 million from endorsements. He is the 14th highest earner in the world ranking. Tiger Woods has sponsorship deals with 2K Sports, Bridgestone, Centinel Spine, Full Swing, Hero Motor Corp, Kowa Company Ltd, Monster Energy, Nike, Rolex, TaylorMade, and Upper Deck. He is the second billionaire in this list with a net worth of $1.1 billion as at 23/01/2023, slightly above LeBron James.

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis is on the 8th spot with $65 million earned from salary/winnings ($57 million) and endorsements ($8 million). The 38-year-old Formula 1 driver occupied the 17th position in the world ranking, and has sponsorship deals with Bose, Mercedes Benz, Monster Energy, Police, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, and Vodafone-USD. His net worth is estimated at $270 million.

Naomi Osaka

The 25-year-old tennis star is the youngest on this list, the only tennis player, and the only female in the top ten ranking. Naomi earned $59.2 million from salary/winnings ($1.2 million) and endorsements ($58 million). She has sponsorship deals with Autograph, Beats Electronics, Body Armor, Hyperice, Levi Strauss & Co, LVHM Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Mastercard, Modern Health, Morinaga & Company, Nike, Panasonic, Tag Heuer, Workday, Wowow Inc, and Yonex. She is 19th in the ranking of the world’s highest-paid athletes and first in the highest-paid female athletes in the world. Her net worth is estimated at $170 million.

Damian Lillard

Damian is the last on this list with $57.4 million earned from salary/winnings ($39.4 million) and endorsements ($18 million). The 32-year-old basketball player plays for the Portland Trail Blazers. He occupies the 20th position in the world ranking and has sponsorship deals with 2K Sports, Adidas, AT&T, Gatorade, Oakley, Spalding, Tissot, Hulu, McDonalds, Moda Health, and Toyota Motor. His net worth is estimated at $110 million.