Who is the king of money? US media ranks the top 5 most marketable athletes in 2025, and only Curry is selected in the NBA

In today's era, professional athletes in various sports can not only earn high salaries, but also rely on their own influence and value to obtain a large number of endorsement contracts, thereby becoming billionaires. Not long ago, SportsPro, a well-known and authoritative sports business media, also released a list of the world's most marketable athletes in 2025. What is unexpected is that football and basketball, regarded as the two largest sports today, actually have two people in the top five. Let's take a look at who the top five athletes are!

Fifth place: Cristiano Ronaldo

Sports: Football

Ranked fifth is Ronaldo in football. Although he is 40 years old, Ronaldo is in pretty good shape. In the Saudi League this season, he has scored 9 goals and sent 1 assist, and has helped the Portuguese team advance to next year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Over the past few years, he has also established his own business empire. According to the latest statistics, Ronaldo's net worth has reached US$1.4 billion, making him the highest in football.

Not only that, his current annual income is a terrifying US$280 million, and the Victory Team alone has offered him a sky-high annual salary of US$230 million. The CR7 brand he established personally is currently valued at 850 million euros. In addition, with his excellent personal image, Ronaldo also has various endorsements such as perfume, hotel chain, fashion clothing, sports equipment, etc. Among them, his lifetime contract with Nike has reached 1 billion US dollars. Coupled with the total number of fans in various media of 1.04 billion, Ronaldo is still the top player in football even if he has entered the end of his career.

Fourth place: Stephen Curry

Sport: Basketball

Then, there is Curry, ranked fourth. Because of his existence, the NBA era has been rewritten, entering the small ball era where three-pointers and fast breaks are the mainstay. Therefore, since 2015, Curry's value has doubled. Although the cooperation between Curry and Under Armor has been terminated recently, it has not had a big impact on him because the two parties have reached an agreement that the Curry Brand has not been cancelled, and will continue to operate as a brand.

According to this year's report, Curry's income reached US$160 million. The Warriors gave him US$59.6 million, the first annual salary in NBA history. Off the court, he earned a total of US$100 million in income from Under Armor endorsements, car brand endorsements, food and beverages, etc.

Of course, the most important thing is his personal Curry brand. Since it has got rid of the shackles of Under Armor, it has now been independently launched. According to estimates, by 2028, the value of this brand may reach 2.5 billion US dollars. This will allow Curry to surpass LeBron James and become the most powerful brand in basketball history, second only to Michael Jordan.

Third place: Ilona Maher

Sports: Rugby

Many people may not be familiar with this athlete, because rugby is not a popular sport in our country, and it is also rugby with a smaller audience. However, abroad, Maher is the top star. This rugby superstar from the United States, although his overall income is not much, has single-handedly helped English rugby gain a place under the dominance of American rugby.

Not only that, she has tens of millions of fans on social media and has successfully helped popularize rugby online and offline. In this case, the income of this female athlete has also reached 3 million US dollars, which is very remarkable in English rugby. Of course, this list focuses not only on income, but also on off-field value. Therefore, Maher deserves to be ranked third if he can promote the popularity and popularity of this sport.

Second place: Simone Biles

Sports: Gymnastics

Ranked second is the legendary American gymnast Biles. Before Biles, the audience's impression of gymnastics was mainly about balance and softness. But the emergence of Biles completely broke this inherent impression. Every move she made was extremely powerful, while also taking into account toughness. It can be said to be the existence of "aesthetics of violence".

It was precisely because of her appearance that she successfully helped the US Gymnastics team dominate women's gymnastics, and she personally became the Goat of women's gymnastics. So from the moment Biles emerged, she became an athlete of global concern, with constant off-court endorsements and an astonishing income. Of course, the most important thing is her contribution to the gymnastics world. It may be difficult for another Biles to appear in the future, so her commercial value is probably unprecedented.

No. 1: Lewis Hamilton

Sports: F1 racing

Ranked first, it can be said to be the money printing machine in today's sports world. He is Lewis Hamilton, the current king of F1 racing. Hamilton, who has won the world championship 7 times, has a terrifying ability to attract money both on and off the court. Now, he has the highest income in the history of F1 racing. Outside of the racing track, he is an endorser in various industries. For many years in a row, he has occupied the first position on this list, and no one can shake his dominance.

On one point, when he joined the Ferrari team, Ferrari's stock price rose by 8% in a single day, which is enough to prove his value. Of course, Hamilton's investment vision is also quite good. Many of the industries he invested in off-site have received huge improvements. Even now, whenever Hamilton attends any venue, he will receive a large appearance fee. This is where his value lies.