10 highest paid sports in the world: Check the complete list

10 highest paid sports in the world: Check the complete list

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It's not news to anyone that sports are one of the best forms of entertainment in the world, where it generates billions of dollars every year, among all of them, we have the 10 highest paid sports in the world.

10 highest paid sports in the world
(10 highest paid sports in the world; Source: Google)

First of all, I'm sure you've already thought about why athletes earn so much, because billions of dollars revolve around this industry, but the truth is that behind it there are several sponsorships.

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These sponsorships, from big brands and companies, inject high capital into clubs, teams and individual athletes, making the sport grow worldwide.

Check out the 10 highest paid sports in the world

In this sense, in this article, we will analyze each of the highest paid sports in the world, walking through each position and getting to know all the details.

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10. Volleyball

To start list of the highest paid sports in the world, we have Volleyball, a very popular sport. In the past, many people placed Volleyball in the girls' sport category, something that has changed over time.

Currently, several men have entered the sport, making the men's category one of the most watched in the world, due to the high levels of competition.

Furthermore, we can state that the global market value of volleyball is US$261,1 million, according to Britannica, highlighting the size and proportions of the category.

So, to get an even better idea, we have the players' monthly salaries, who earn an average of US$19.910 to US$187.200 per month.

Another very interesting point to say is that, of the 800 million people who follow the sport, the majority are Brazilians, since we see several championships and games being broadcast on Open TV.

9. Boxing

Following the list, we have Boxing as the ninth highest paid sport in the world, with an incredible 383,3 million market share. Currently it has not been as popular due to several factors, but it remains on this list.

In the past, Boxing was one of the main sports, generating great cinema hits such as Rocky Balboa, which had the sport as the main point of the film.

However, as time passed and new types of martial arts and fights developed, such as MMA itself, this category was gradually left aside.

Finally, the average salary for professionals reaches US$50.000, in contrast to amateur fighters receiving around US$1.000 to US$4.000 per fight.

8. Motorsport

In eighth place we have Motorsport as one of the highest paid sports in the world, currently with a global market value of US$5 billion.

In this sense, we can even predict that the Motorsport market will only tend to grow over time, since the provisions are positive for the coming years.

The category became hotter year after year, with new names emerging and a lot of money involved. Sponsorship, advertising, ticketing, merchandising, hosting and broadcasting fees – all of this made the market for this sport grow absurdly.

7. Tennis

Without a doubt, this is one of the 10 highest paid sports in the world that attract the most attention among the most elite people, especially in Brazil.

Big sponsorship names like Rolex itself finance tennis tournaments, highlighting the sport as one of the most elite due to high sponsorship.

Furthermore, we also have more than 87 million people who love the sport and contribute to its exponential growth year after year, where today it has a global market of around US$6,06 million.

Finally, we can highlight that professional tennis earns an average salary of $64.033 per year, an amount that can increase as you win tournaments or do more advertising.

6. Gulf

Therefore, continuing to talk about elite sports, we have Golf, one of the most elite sports, if not the most elite, where rich people tend to have easier access to the practice of this expensive sport.

However, despite there still being great segregation within the sport, we can say that access to it has become easier post-pandemic.

Therefore, in relation to the amounts earned, the average salary can reach up to $51.890 per year, while beginners earn around $24.072 per year.

5. Ice Hockey

Finally we arrived at the TOP 5 of 10 highest paid sports in the world, and with that, we say that the game becomes more serious from here on.

Ice Hockey has a highly engaged and large audience, reaching 2,2 billion people. Due to the high size of fans, supporters and sponsorships, the global market is around US$60 billion.

The NHL is the main league, responsible for raising the level of the sport and making a huge noise in the sports industry. With that, you can imagine the size of the players' salaries.

In this sense, minimum player salaries start at US$700.000 and can easily exceed US$2,39 million.

4. Football

Furthermore, in the TOP4 we have our beloved Football, and this can cause a certain uncertainty, as many Brazilians believe that it is the highest paid sport in the world, but no, it is not.

According to The Guardian, football is present in around 200 countries around the world with approximately 250 million players, a very high number.

Furthermore, the market value of football is around US$600 billion, with players earning a lot of money around the world, where Messi, Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar are the highest paid players in the world.

3. American Football

We start the TOP3 of 10 highest paid sports in the world, with American Football in third place. With a market value of US$200 billion, this sport pays as well as football itself, with salaries on the moon.

Therefore, there are more than 3,5 billion fans passionate about the sport, causing financial turnover to increase significantly each season.

Regarding average salaries, they start at $860.000 and can reach high numbers.

2. Baseball

In the TOP 2 we have Baseball with a global market value of US$40 million. MLB is the main league and attracts several sponsors, not to mention advertising, ticketing, merchandising, hosting and broadcasting fees.

To give you an idea, a player from MLB can earn around US$4,17 million, an amount that is much higher than other sports leagues in their entirety.

1. Basketball

Well, it wasn't news to anyone, perhaps to some, that Basketball and the famous NBA had the biggest global market numbers in the entire world. list of the highest paid sports in the world.

The global market value reaches US$90 billion, with more than 2,5 billion fans worldwide. The amount of financial movement in this sport is absurd.

Finally, we can say that all these points together make Basketball the highest paid sport in the world, thanks to the immense amount of advertising, sponsorship and fans.

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