There are no women in Forbes magazine’s 2024 ranking of the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes. This year, the world’s highest-paid athlete is footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. While the stars of the NBA, the American basketball league, are the most represented in this ranking with 19 athletes, the NFL, the American soccer league, is also well placed with 11 athletes. Then comes soccer with 8 representatives.
No women in the top 50 highest-paid athletes
As is the case every year, the pay gap between men’s and women’s sports is so wide that it’s impossible to find a female champion in the Top 50. The two female representatives in this ranking in 2023, both tennis players, have in fact left the courts, one permanently (Serena Williams, retired), the other temporarily (Naomi Osaka, away from the courts during her pregnancy).
Although Caitlin Clark’s contract with Nike caused quite a stir, the salary of the new women’s basketball phenomenon, who plays at the Indiana Fever, is in the region of $77,000 a month. By way of comparison, his male equivalent Victor Wembanyama earned $12.2 million in base salary when he arrived at the San Antonio Spurs in his first year. In short, it’s a far cry. So, who will take the prize this year ?
Clark’s electrifying run through the NCAA Tournament
Like her college basketball career, Caitlin Clark began her pro days by breaking another record. The former University of Iowa, and all-time leading scorer in NCAA basketball history, signed with Nike for what is said to be the most lucrative endorsement deal in women’s basketball, reportedly worth $28 million over eight years.
Caitlin Clark’s run through the NCAA tournament pushed TV ratings to new heights, and her WNBA debut against the Connecticut Sun gave that team its first sellout for a home opener since 2003.
Polish tennis player Iga Świ ątek, the world’s highest-paid female athlete
Yet even with her Nike deal and other lucrative partnerships with Gatorade, State Farm and Gainbridge, Clark didn’t earn enough to make the top 50 highest-paid athletes in the world this year – in fact, no woman did.
The highest-paid female athlete of 2023, Polish tennis sensation Iga Świ ątek, collected around $23.9 million in total earnings, just over half the $45.2 million it took to make the top 50 athletes of 2024. And it doesn’t get any easier to make the list, given that the threshold for this year is roughly double the $22.7 million it was ten years ago.