The Business of Sport: The World's Most Commercially Valuable Athletes

For the world's biggest sports stars, salary and prize money are only part of the picture. An August 2026 study by BettingTop10 compared what leading athletes earn from playing with what they make away from competition through endorsements, appearances, licensing and other commercial activity.

The ranking uses off-field earnings as the only scoring measure. On-field pay and off-field share are included to show how each athlete's income is divided, but neither changes the ranking.

The figures are based on Forbes estimates covering 1 May 2025 to 1 May 2026. They are pre-tax and include commercial earnings beyond endorsements alone, such as appearances, licensing, memorabilia and business ventures.

Ohtani's $125M Commercial Income Is in a League of Its Own 

Shohei Ohtani sits comfortably at the top of the off-field ranking with $125M, $40M more than second-placed LeBron James.

His on-field earnings are listed at just $2.6M, putting his total at $127.6M. That means 97.96% of his reported earnings come from off-field sources, and his commercial income is roughly 48 times his on-field figure.

There is an important qualification. The methodology notes that much of Ohtani's Dodgers contract is deferred, so the $2.6M on-field figure reflects contract structure as much as earning power. His unusually high off-field percentage should therefore be interpreted with care.

1. Shohei Ohtani

Ohtani earns $125M off-field and $2.6M on-field, giving him the largest commercial income in the study and an off-field share of 97.96%.

His $127.6M total actually trails several athletes in overall earnings, which shows how different this ranking looks when salary and prize money are removed from the equation.

2. LeBron James

LeBron James takes second place with $85M in estimated off-field earnings. He also earns $52.8M on-field, bringing his total to $137.8M.

Off-field activity accounts for 61.68% of his total, meaning commercial earnings are the larger side of his income split.

3. Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is third on $70M off-field. He also records $70M on-field, producing the cleanest split in the top 10: exactly half of his $140M total comes from each side.

That balance contrasts sharply with Ohtani's commercial-heavy profile and Ronaldo's salary-heavy one.

4. Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo earns $65M away from competition, putting him fourth in the off-field ranking and level with Stephen Curry.

However, his $235M on-field earnings push his total to $300M, the highest overall figure in the dataset. Only 21.67% of Ronaldo's total comes from off-field sources.

5. Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry also brings in $65M off-field, alongside $59.7M from playing. His total earnings are $124.7M.

With 52.13% coming from off-field activity, Curry's commercial income edges above his on-court earnings during the period covered.

Ronaldo's position is one of the clearest examples of why this ranking differs from a standard highest-paid-athlete list.

His $300M total is more than double Ohtani's $127.6M, yet Ohtani earns almost twice as much off-field: $125M compared with Ronaldo's $65M.

Canelo Alvarez provides another sharp contrast. His total earnings reach $170M, but $160M comes from on-field income and only $10M from off-field sources. His commercial share is just 5.88%.

Who Depends Most on Off-Field Income?

The ranking itself is based on dollar value, not percentage share, but the calculated share column reveals a different set of standouts.

Eileen Gu records the highest off-field share in the workbook at 99.57%, with $23M off-field and just $0.1M on-field. Caitlin Clark follows at 99.17%, Paige Bueckers at 98.90% and Ilona Maher at 98.77%. Ohtani's 97.96% places him close behind.

At the other end, Bo Bichette records just 0.73% of total earnings from off-field sources, while Kyle Tucker is at 1.45%. These percentages are highly sensitive to the on-field figure, so they should be read as an income split rather than a pure measure of popularity or brand strength.

What stands out is how differently elite athletes make their money. Ohtani earns almost all of his reported total away from the field, while Ronaldo earns far more from playing than from commercial activity. Messi sits exactly in the middle. It shows why total earnings and off-field earning power are two very different measuresInsert qoute here.

Heather Gartland, BettingTop10 Analyst

Unlike the previous athlete-production study, this ranking does not use a weighted scoring model. Athletes are ordered directly by their estimated off-field earnings in millions of US dollars.

Off-field earnings are defined as money from endorsements, appearances, licensing and business ventures. On-field earnings cover salary, prize money and bonuses.

The off-field share is calculated by dividing off-field earnings by total earnings. It is a context metric only and does not affect where an athlete ranks.

Complete Workbook List by Off-Field Earnings

The supplied workbook contains 70 athlete rows. They are shown below in descending order of off-field earnings. Because the methodology states that some female-athlete data comes from a separate Forbes publication period and is not directly comparable with the main 2026 list, this table should be treated as the workbook's combined reference list rather than a single official Forbes ranking.

• Off-field earnings are the only ranking metric and carry 100% of the ranking weight.
• Earnings cover 1 May 2025 to 1 May 2026 for the Forbes 2026 figures and are pre-tax estimates.
• Off-field earnings include endorsements, appearances, licensing, memorabilia and business ventures, not endorsements alone.
• Only athletes included in the underlying Forbes lists are represented. A highly marketable athlete outside those lists would not appear.
• The workbook notes that Forbes' 2026 main top-50 list contains no women and that female-athlete earnings are published separately for calendar 2025 on a non-comparable basis.
• On-field pay structures can distort the off-field share. Ohtani's deferred salary is the clearest example.
• The off-field share should not be treated as a standalone measure of marketability because an unusually low or high salary can dramatically change the percentage.

You can access the complete research findings here.