Who is the highest paid athlete in the Olympics? NBA players dominate top-earning stars list
The Paris Olympics will feature some of the highest-paid athletes in the world battling for their country’s supremacy in their respective sport. NBA players are the highest-earning athletes by a wide margin.
According to Forbes, NBA players occupied 13 spots in the top 20 top-earning athletes, including four in the top five. Conversely, the highest-paid athlete in the Olympics is Spanish golfer Jon Rahm, who is earning $210 million from salary and endorsements.
Despite not getting the top spot on the list, NBA superstars dominate the top-earning Olympic athletes in Paris. Here are some of the highest-earning basketball players in the Olympics.
5 highest-paid NBA players in the Olympics
#1 LeBron James
LeBron James is one of the most popular superstars in the Olympics. A four-time NBA champion and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, James is expected to lead Team USA to the nation’s fifth consecutive Olympic title.
James is earning a total of $127.7 million, combining his endorsements and NBA salary. James is leading all Olympic athletes in endorsement earnings with $80 million, courtesy of his top sponsors Nike, Beats, AT&T, DraftKings, Taco Bell, Crypto.com, and more. Meanwhile, he earns $47.7 million with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Paris Games will be James’ fourth Olympic appearance after making his debut in the 2004 Athens Olympics, where Team USA won the bronze medal. James will be the nation’s flag bearer, alongside Coco Gauff.
#2 Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry is the second-highest-earning NBA player in the Olympics. He is earning a total of $101.9 million from $50 million of sponsors and $51.9 million from the Golden State Warriors.
A longtime Warrior, Curry has won four NBA championships and has been the face of Golden State since he was drafted in 2009. Among his top endorsements are Under Armour, Chase, Nissan Motor, Rakuten, Sony, JP Morgan, Brita, Unilever, Vivo, Infiniti, and FTX.
#3 Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the top non-American earner among NBA players in the list. Giannis plays for Greece and is their flag bearer for the Paris Games after steering the nation to their first Olympic basketball appearance since 2008.
Giannis earns $100.8 million off $45.8 million from his NBA salary, and $55 million from his sponsors which include Nike, Whatsapp, Tissot, JBL, and Google.
Giannis is born in Athens to Nigerian parents. He has played 11 seasons in the NBA and has won one NBA title, two MVP awards, and a Defensive Player of the Year nod.
#4 Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant plays for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA and earns $47.7 million, while also getting $42 million from endorsements such as Nike, Google, Alaska Air group, Beats by Dre, American Family Insurance, and Sprint, among others.
He is the highest-scoring player in Olympic basketball history, winning three gold medals in as many Olympic appearances.
#5 Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid gets $47.7 million from his salary with the Philadelphia 76ers and $10 million from sponsorships for a total of $57 million. A huge chunk of his endorsement earnings come from sneaker brand Sketchers, which has used Embiid as one of the brand’s top faces.
Embiid will be playing his first Olympic Games after choosing to play for Team USA instead of his home country Cameroon or France, where he also holds citizenship.