Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing crew has been on a tear to start out the 2026 NASCAR season. Behind driver Tyler Reddick, 23XI gained 4 of the primary six races, months after MJ with NASCAR concerning a problem to the racing circuit’s constitution system.
Proudly owning a NASCAR crew doesn’t spit off a ton of money, however Jordan stays the world’s highest-paid athlete—lively or retired—because of his seminal Nike partnership signed in 1984 when he entered the NBA.
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Jordan earned an estimated $275 million in 2025, primarily from Nike. It greater than the , Cristiano Ronaldo, who made $260 million in wage and endorsements, and double Canelo Alvarez ($137 million), who ranked second.
Jordan’s haul pushed his estimated profession earnings to $3.28 billion and $4.5 billion when adjusted for inflation. He widened his lead forward of Tiger Woods among the many world’s highest-paid athletes of all time. Woods has earned $1.97 billion since he turned professional and $2.88 billion in actual {dollars}.
Nike is the dominant model in basketball and sports activities at the moment, however that was not the case when it signed Jordan. Adidas’ income was 50% bigger, whereas Reebok was gaining traction and would surpass Nike in income by 1987. Converse was the model of selection for NBA stars Magic Johnson, Larry Chicken and Julius Erving.
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Nike guess huge on Jordan by way of a five-year cope with base pay of $500,000 per 12 months, triple every other NBA sneaker deal. It importantly additionally included a minimize of gross sales, which topped $100 million within the first 12 months after the sneakers hit retailer cabinets.
Jordan’s Nike paycheck rose as income did. Lately, the efficiency basketball sneaker market dipped, however the way of life enterprise greater than made up for the declines. The model’s income doubled between 2020 and 2024 because it expanded into extra girls’s gear, non-basketball gadgets and worldwide.
Within the fiscal 12 months ending Could 2025, income for the Jordan Model fell 16% amid a turnaround plan by CEO Elliott Hill, in October 2024. However the $7.3 billion in income is a minimum of 70x what most signature basketball sneaker athletes generate. Below Armour noticed a number of hundred million {dollars} generated yearly on the Curry model’s peak, nevertheless it had dipped to between $75 million to $100 million, based on Needham analyst Tom Nikic. In November, Stephen Curry and UA introduced .
“Jordan is without doubt one of the most wonderful athletes with the emotional bond and connection he’s made together with his followers,” Q Scores Firm government Henry Schafer stated in a cellphone interview. “He largely stays out of the highlight, however his title is everywhere,”
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Q Scores’ current polling highlights MJ’s standing within the sports activities hierarchy. His 78% consciousness degree is the very best amongst all athletes, regardless of hanging up his excessive tops for good 23 years in the past. Subsequent up are Shaquille O’Neal (75%), Tom Brady (73%), Tiger Woods (70%) and Serena Williams (70%).
Jordan’s likability rating of 28 can also be tops amongst athletes, a tick forward of Shohei Ohtani, whose consciousness is simply 26% of the general public. Schafer stated MJ’s Q Rating has been the very best amongst athletes because the early Nineties outdoors of 1 12 months when Woods jumped forward. Tiger’s likability, or Q Rating, was 11 earlier within the 12 months and under the common sports activities persona rating of 13.
MJ’s different longtime endorsement relationships embrace Gatorade, 5 Star, Higher Deck and 2K. Past 23XI Racing, he has investments in Axiomatic, Cincoro Tequila, DraftKings and Sportradar, and maintains an LP stake within the Charlotte Hornets, which he bought management of in 2023 at a $3 billion valuation.
Athletes from 10 sports activities, together with three kinds of racing, crack the highest 50, and many of the 50 athletes are retired, with solely 18 nonetheless lively. Jordan leads the 13 NBA gamers on the checklist, with golf the subsequent most represented with eight, adopted by boxing at seven, led by Floyd Mayweather at an inflation-adjusted $1.57 billion, tenth all-time. Twenty athletes landed at $1 billion or greater, whereas the cutoff was $595 million with retired Formulation 1 driver Kimi Raikkonen.
Leaving the sphere, courtroom or course doesn’t minimize off the cash spigot. David Beckham, Roger Federer and Brady all earned greater than $50 million final 12 months, by way of a myriad of economic agreements. Every of them stay fashionable pitchmen in retirement.
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In 2022, Genuine Manufacturers Group paid roughly $270 million for a 55% stake in Beckham’s holding firm for a lot of of his partnerships. DRJB Holdings has three divisions in DB Ventures, Seven World and Studio 99. DRJB had income of $92 million in 2024 and paid out dividends of $52.5 million to its shareholders.
In November, Financial institution of America signed a five-year partnership with Beckham to be an envoy weeks after he was knighted by King Charles III at Windsor Fort. The banking large will lean on Beckham to advertise its international sports activities applications forward of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
Federer maintains endorsement relationships with 11 manufacturers in retirement, together with Mercedes-Benz, Rolex and UBS. In 2018, he signed a 10-year attire cope with Japanese model Uniqlo that was price roughly $30 million yearly whether or not he was enjoying tennis or not. The deal allowed for Federer to do a sneaker carve-out cope with Swiss model On after twenty years with Nike. At $1.67 billion, he ranks No. 9, simply behind Beckham.
Brady ranks No. 21 at $890 million and leads 4 NFL gamers who made the minimize—Aaron Rodgers ($650 million) is the one one nonetheless lively. In 2024, Brady started his 10-year, $375 million contract to be Fox Sports activities’ lead NFL analyst—his profession enjoying wage was $333 million over 23 years. Brady eschewed many endorsement offers throughout his profession however embraced them extra on the finish and in retirement. He’s pitched for firms together with Dick’s Sporting Items, Hertz, Dunkin’, Pizza Hut and Ferrero throughout the previous 12 months.
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Serena Williams is the one girl to crack the highest earners—an prolonged checklist of the highest 100 would additionally usher in Maria Sharapova. A 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, Williams nonetheless has sponsor offers with 10 manufacturers, corresponding to Audemars Piguet, Barbie, Lincoln, Nike and Ro. She has been lively investing in sports activities with stakes in NWSL’s Angel Metropolis FC, WNBA’s Toronto Tempo, TGL’s Los Angeles Golf Membership and ladies’s 3-on-3 league Unequalled. Her newest is as a backer of the NFL’s new .
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