The richest athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics, ranked
Every athlete at the Olympics is athletically gifted, but it's no secret some far out-earn others. We take a look at the highest paid Olympians at Paris 2024
By Cayle Reid
IT TAKES AN exceptional amount of dedication and physical ability to be an Olympian, but for all the work that goes into it, the job doesn’t necessarily pay that well. Unless you’re lucky enough to hail from one of the nations that pays an exorbitant sum in return for medals – sometimes in excess of $1 million – or have sponsorship money to fall back on, for most, being an Olympian is only a part-time job.
That rings true in more ways than one. Yes, less-successful Olympians in less-popular sports have to treat being an athlete as a part-time job, as they need to support themselves through other avenues. But then there’s the select few to whom the Olympics are merely a sideshow from their more lucrative jobs elsewhere – we’re talking basketballers, golfers and tennis players from professional sports who make more bank outside of the Olympics than during them.
With that in mind, you might assume that a list of the richest Olympians would just name the roster of the American basketball team, who are all on huge contracts in the NBA, but you’d be mistaken. The highest paid Olympian of all is not who you’d expect. Read on to find out who it is, as we rank the richest Olympians by their current salaries.
All figures are in AUD and are accurate as if August 5th 2024.
Read Esquire’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games here:
All the Australian Olympic medals won at Paris 2024, so far
The countries that pay their athletes for winning Olympic medals
The best Olympic opening ceremonies of all time, ranked
The unofficial MVPs of Paris 2024, so far
Who is the highest paid Olympian?
15. Novak Djokovic
Yearly earnings: $37.8 million
Sport: Tennis
As of today, Novak Djokovic has become just the fifth tennis player – after Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams – to complete a golden slam, whereby a player wins all four major grand slams and an Olympic gold medal at some point in their career. Judging by his yearly earnings, Djokovic is also thriving off the court.
14. Jayson Tatum
Yearly earnings: $43.5 million
Sport: Basketball
Fresh off of winning his first NBA championship with the Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum is now eyeing his second Olympic gold medal with team USA. Tatum is one of the highest paid players in the NBA, which naturally makes him one of the richest Olympians.
13. Carlos Alcaraz
Yearly earnings: $45 million
Sport: Tennis
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have gone back and forth this year. The Spanish wunderkind bested the Serbian maestro at both the French Open and Wimbledon, but it was Djokovic who got the better of Alcaraz at the Olympics in the gold medal match. Still, it’s Alcaraz who takes home more money of the two, so at least he’s been able to draw one back.
12. Viktor Hovland
Yearly earnings: $45.9 million
Sport: Golf
For much of this list, wealth seems to have a direct correlation with Olympic success, as the higher paid athletes are almost always winning medals. Viktor Hovland is an outlier, then, for the Norwegian finished 30th in a field of 58 in the golfing event.
11. Anthony Davis
Yearly earnings: $46.7 million
Sport: Basketball
Another high-earning NBA player, Anthony Davis has as many NBA Championships as he does Olympic gold medals – one. He’ll be looking to add to the latter sooner rather than later.
10. Devin Booker
Yearly earnings: $48.1 million
Sport: Basketball
Devin Booker has been a key contributor for team USA for a number of years. He was a starter on the gold medal-winning American basketball team at Tokyo 2020 and has remained an important figure in a much more stacked lineup at Paris 2024.
9. Nikola Jokic
Yearly earnings: $54.7 million
Sport: Basketball
Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic is arguably the best basketball player in the world, and he’s appropriately one of the highest paid athletes at the Olympics. Representing Serbia, Jokic doesn’t have the supporting cast of Team USA, but his raw talent could be enough to power his nation to a medal. Unfortunately for Australian basketball fans, it’s Jokic and Serbia that the Boomers will play in the quarterfinals later this week.
8. Joel Embiid
Yearly earnings: $57.7 million
Sport: Basketball
We’re noticing a recurring theme here. Obviously, basketball players do make up a sizeable chunk of the richest Olympians, but it’s only because basketball is one of the world’s most lucrative sports. Besides, there are still a few non-basketball players to come. Joel Embiid, as an NBA MVP, deserves to be this highly paid – although he has struggled to find his groove with team USA so far.
7. Scottie Scheffler
Yearly earnings: $62.6 million
Sport: Golf
Finally someone who isn’t a basketball player. Scottie Scheffler picked up his first gold medal this morning in the men’s golf tournament, a massive achievement considering the event has historically been a crapshoot where the top players inexplicably underperform. As a two-time Masters winner, Scheffler has picked up some considerable prize purses throughout his career, but Olympic gold – which comes with no prize money – won’t fill his coffers too much.
6. Rory McIlroy
Yearly earnings: $77.9 million
Sport: Golf
We want nothing more than to see Rory McIlroy standing on the Olympic podium while representing Ireland. While usually competing under the flag of Northern Ireland, the strange pseudo-nation Olympic system where England, Scotland and Wales compete as Great Britain while Ireland and Northern Ireland compete as one, allows for a brief moment of Irish unification. McIlroy hasn’t been fortunate enough to win a medal for the emerald isle though, finishing fourth and fifth during his Olympic appearances, narrowly missing out on medals.
5. Kevin Durant
Yearly earnings: $89.7 million
Sport: Basketball
After a brief break from basketball players, we’re back with another sustained run. This time it’s another NBA MVP, Kevin Durant. A stalwart member of team USA, Durant won gold medals in 2012, 2016 and 2020. If he wins another gold this year, he’ll become the most successful athlete ever in an Olympic team sport.
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
Yearly earnings: $100.8 million
Sport: Basketball
Greece has always been a regional powerhouse in basketball, but in recent years the nation hasn’t found as much success in major international tournaments. Giannis Antetokounmpo is looking to change that, almost single-handedly carrying Greece into the Olympic tournament and then into the knockout stages. Don’t you worry though, he’s being handsomely rewarded for his efforts with a nine-figure salary.
3. Steph Curry
Yearly earnings: $101.9 million
Sport: Basketball
Another basketball player, another NBA MVP. Unsurprisingly, most NBA MVPs are paid pretty well, which immediately makes them some of the richest Olympians. Steph Curry is no exception, but what is surprising is that Paris 2024 is Curry’s first Olympics despite dominating the NBA for the last decade.
2. LeBron James
Yearly earnings: $128 million
Sport: Basketball
Who could possibly top King James on this list? Is what you’re probably wondering right now. We don’t blame you, Forbes reports that LeBron James is a billionaire, but we’re not ranking by net worth, we’re ranking by salary. And if there’s one league that pays better than the NBA, it’s a Saudi Arabian-backed renegade golf league.
1. Jon Rahm
Yearly earnings: $210 million
Sport: Golf
The one Olympian who earns more year on year than a literal billionaire is Spanish golfer Jon Rahm. Rahm makes plenty from his winnings, with both a Masters and US Open win on his list of accolades, but it’s his contract with LIV Golf that’s responsible for making him the richest Olympian of all. The Olympics are a great equaliser, however, and wealth doesn’t guarantee a medal. Case in point, Rahm missed out on the medals entirely in Paris, finishing equal-fifth with Rory McIlroy.
Who is the highest paid Australian Olympian?
As far as we can tell by tabulating contracts and sponsorship deals, basketball player Josh Green is the highest paid Australian at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Like many on the richest Olympians list, Green is an basketball player. On his NBA contract, Green makes $18.85 million per year as a two-way wing who can shoot the three and lockdown opposing players on defence. He made it all the way to the NBA finals last season with the Dallas Mavericks before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets, where he’ll presumably take on an even larger role.
How much do Olympians get paid?
That depends on what country they represent. There’s no base level universal income for all Olympians who make it to the Games, but some nations do choose to reward their athletes should they achieve Olympic success. Some countries, like Great Britain, don’t pay their athletes at all for medals, while Australia pays $20,000 for gold and Hong Kong offers up a sum in the millions.
Related:
All the Australian Olympic medals won at Paris 2024, so far
The countries that pay their athletes for winning Olympic medals
