Business magazine Forbes published its annual overview of the fifty highest-paid athletes on Thursday. Footballers and basketball players dominate the list, but there are also two spots reserved for Formula 1 drivers. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are mentioned, although both have dropped a few places compared to last year. Moreover, Hamilton has overtaken his Dutch rival again. Has that Ferrari deal paid off after all?
Last year, Max Verstappen finished in seventeenth place, but in 2025 he ends up in twenty-fourth place. Lewis Hamilton also has to give up two places; where he was in twenty-first place in 2024, he is now twenty-third. Thus, he has managed to overtake Verstappen again. Interestingly, Verstappen’s salary is much higher, but Hamilton earns much more from activities outside of Formula 1 – think mainly of sponsorship deals.
Millionaires Club
Both drivers are comfortably off, if we are to believe this ranking. Verstappen is said to have earned around 78 million dollars (almost 70 million euros) in the past year, and Hamilton was able to add about 80 million dollars (over 71 million euros) to his already hefty bank account.
Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo ‘shines’ at the top of the list for the third year in a row. The Portuguese superstar of Saudi Arabian Al-Nassr FC tops the list with 275 million dollars (over 245 million euros). This is also a significant increase compared to 2024. Basketball player Stephen Curry (156 million) and boxer Tyson Fury (146 million) complete the top three. For the second year in a row, there is not a single woman among the fifty highest-paid athletes. The last woman to be on the list was Serena Williams in 2023.
