The Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker, Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen are among the seven sports stars 25 or younger who landed on the list of the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes.
Photos, Booker: Kelsey Grant/Getty Images; Mbappe: Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images; Verstappen: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Leading up to the 2017 NFL draft, Marshon Lattimore ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.36 seconds. But this is real acceleration: The New Orleans Saints cornerback made $40.9 million over the last 12 months after collecting $2.6 million the previous year, racing up the ranking of the world’s highest-paid athletes to No. 38 before his 26th birthday.
The haul makes Lattimore one of seven stars 25 or younger to land on this year’s Forbes list of the sports world’s top earners.
It’s an exclusive group, with no shortage of barriers to entry. The top 50, as measured by earnings before taxes and agents’ fees, has an average age of 32, and only one member of the top ten—the Milwaukee Bucks’ 27-year-old superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo—has yet to turn 30. In the NFL and the NBA, rookie salary scales suppress wages for young standouts. MLB players don’t hit the free market of free agency until they have spent six years in the big leagues.
But these seven athletes cleared those hurdles, and others, to post at least $38 million in the 12 months ending May 1.
Here are the world’s highest-paid athletes age 25 and under.
The Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen celebrating a touchdown in November 2020.
Timothy T. Ludwig/Getty Images
1. Josh Allen
Total Earnings: $67 million
On-Field Earnings: $63 million
Off-Field Earnings: $4 million
Age: 25
Sport: Football
Nationality: U.S.
Allen gets onto this list under the wire: He turns 26 on May 21. The Buffalo Bills quarterback signed a six-year contract extension in August that tops out at $258 million and has $150 million in guaranteed money—an NFL record. That includes a $16.5 million signing bonus and a $42.4 million option bonus, which push Allen to the top of this ranking. Off the field, he counts Nike, Pepsi and New Era among his sponsors.
Naomi Osaka at the 2022 Miami Open.
Robert Prange/Getty Images
2. Naomi Osaka
Total Earnings: $59.2 million
On-Field Earnings: $1.2 million
Off-Field Earnings: $58 million
Age: 24
Sport: Tennis
Nationality: Japan
Osaka falls just short of her $60 million earnings total from last year, which set a record for a female athlete, and is one of just two women featured in the top 50, along with Serena Williams. The Japanese tennis ace has more than 20 corporate partners, including Nike, Mastercard and Louis Vuitton, as well as her own skincare line, Kinlò. She also just launched a sports agency, Evolve.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing celebrating after winning the Formula 1 drivers’ championship and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December.
Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
3. Max Verstappen
Total Earnings: $48 million
On-Field Earnings: $46 million
Off-Field Earnings: $2 million
Age: 24
Sport: Formula 1 auto racing
Nationality: Netherlands
Verstappen clinched the 2021 F1 drivers’ championship by passing his rival Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the final race of the season. The title came with a hefty championship bonus for the Red Bull Racing driver, who had finished in third in 2019 and 2020. Verstappen is an established star despite his young age. He was the youngest driver in F1 history, at 17, and he set another record by winning his first race at 18.
Kylian Mbappé of Paris Saint-Germain warming up before a match against Troyes in May.
Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images
4. Kylian Mbappé
Total Earnings: $43 million
On-Field Earnings: $28 million
Off-Field Earnings: $15 million
Age: 23
Sport: Soccer
Nationality: France
Mbappé became a global star with his stellar showing for France as a 19-year-old at the 2018 World Cup, and he has been the top scorer in France’s Ligue 1 every season since. (The Paris Saint-Germain forward once again leads the league with 25 goals, with one game remaining in the 2021-22 season.) Mbappé, named to the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in the sports category, is partnered with brands including Nike, Hublot and EA Sports.
New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore during a game in October.
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
5. Marshon Lattimore
Total Earnings: $40.9 million
On-Field Earnings: $40.8 million
Off-Field Earnings: $0.1 million
Age: 25
Sport: Football
Nationality: U.S.
Like Allen, Lattimore just barely sneaks onto this list—he turns 26 on May 20. The Saints cornerback signed a five-year, $97.6 million contract extension in September and went on to earn his fourth Pro Bowl selection, in five NFL seasons.
The Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker celebrating after scoring against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of a playoff series in May.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
6. Devin Booker
Total Earnings: $39.9 million
On-Field Earnings: $31.9 million
Off-Field Earnings: $8 million
Age: 25
Sport: Basketball
Nationality: U.S.
Booker’s Phoenix Suns had a disappointing end to the season, falling to the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs after making the NBA finals last year, but his business is just heating up. The shooting guard, who was named to the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the sports category, partners with brands like Nike, Corona beer and Sweetgreen and has a hands-on role as a co-owner of coconut-water sports drink COCO5.
Jake Paul fighting Tyron Woddley in December.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
7. Jake Paul
Total Earnings: $38 million
On-Field Earnings: $30 million
Off-Field Earnings: $8 million
Age: 25
Sport: Boxing
Nationality: U.S.
The YouTube star-turned-boxer is polarizing, but he had two lucrative fights against Tyron Woodley last year, plus a high-paying bout against Ben Askren that fell outside Forbes’ tracking window for this ranking. Paul was the promoter behind the April megafight between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor and recently announced he planned to return to the ring himself in August, with his opponent still to be determined.
Methodology
Forbes’ on-field earnings figures include all prize money, salaries and bonuses earned between May 1, 2021, and May 1, 2022. In cases where players continue to be paid beyond May for a regular season that is concluded by then—as in the NBA and European soccer—we assign the full season of salary. Playoff bonuses are included for the 2021 NFL season and the 2020-21 NBA season.
Off-field earnings figures are an estimate of sponsorship deals, appearance fees and memorabilia and licensing income for the 12 months leading to May 1, 2022, plus cash returns from any businesses operated by the athlete, based on conversations with industry insiders. Forbes does not include investment income such as interest payments or dividends but does account for payouts from equity stakes athletes have sold.
Forbes does not deduct for taxes or agents’ fees.
With additional reporting by Justin Birnbaum.
