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How the highest-paid golfer in 2025 compares to Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James

Originally posted on HITC | By Charlie Walker | Last updated Jan 16, 2026 10:00 AM ET

The rise of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league has allowed golfers to make hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

Tiger Woods was reportedly offered $800 million in LIV’s quest to acquire all of the biggest names in the sport, luring them away from the PGA Tour.

Those attempts have become less and less successful in recent seasons as LIV struggles to bring in new additions, forcing the league to pay players more and more over the years. When Jon Rahm joined in 2023, he signed a contract worth over $300 million, according to reports.

But how does that compare to the other highest-paid athletes from 2025, some of whom are also being paid by the Saudis? Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list, and the numbers are eye-watering.

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How much more money Cristiano Ronaldo made than the highest-paid golfer in 2025

In 2025, Spanish LIV Golfer Rahm made $100.7 million, according to Sportico. $84.7 million of that came from his LIV Golf salary and his winnings, and an additional $16 million was earned through endorsements. That made him the 10th highest-paid athlete in 2025.

But that doesn’t come close to Ronaldo. The Al-Nassr superstar playing in Saudi Arabia made $260 million in 2025, making him the highest-paid athlete of the year. $200 million came from his salary, and $60 million from endorsements.

Rank	Name	Sport	Total ($)
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Football	260 million
2	Canelo Alvarez	Boxing	137 million
3	Lionel Messi	Football	130 million
4	Juan Soto	Baseball	129.2 million
5	LeBron James	Basketball	128.7 million
6	Karim Benzema	Football	115 million
7	Stephen Curry	Basketball	105.4 million
8	Shohei Ohtani	Baseball	102.5 million
9	Kevin Durant	Basketball	100.8 million
10	Jon Rahm	Golf	100.7 million

At number two on the list is boxer Canelo Alvarez, who earned $137 million after his high-profile fight with Terrance Crawford, and Lionel Messi of Inter Miami was third, having made $130 million. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was fifth with $128.7 million.

Surprisingly, the next two highest-paid golfers were PGA Tour players. Rory McIlroy made $91.2 million ($55 million coming from endorsements) to rank 14th, and Scottie Scheffler was 16th with $82.9 million.

Bryson DeChambeau was 23rd, having made $62.7 million on the year.

Bryson DeChambeau is likely to become the highest-paid golfer of all time

After LIV Golf’s disastrous offseason, which saw five-time major winner Brooks Koepka leave for the PGA Tour, LIV Golf is desperately hoping to keep hold of its biggest superstar, DeChambeau, for the foreseeable future.

But DeChambeau’s LIV contract expires at the end of 2026, and he is reportedly considering his future. He even posted a cryptic Instagram story of him standing next to an exit sign captioned, “What should I do?”

Reports suggest that DeChambeau is seeking a $500 million deal to stay on LIV. And the league will likely have to meet those demands. His YouTube presence makes him one of the most popular figures in the sport, and they simply can’t afford to lose the two-time US Open winner.

And with that deal, DeChambeau would surge past Rahm to become by far the highest-paid player in the sport, and he may even challenge Ronaldo at the top of the leaderboard.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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