For the second year in a row, women are absent from Sportico’s list of the world’s top 100 paid athletes.
United States tennis star Coco Gauff was named by the publication as the top-earning female athlete in 2024, bringing in US$30.4 million - that's $7 million short of the minimum $37.5 million to be included in the top 100.
In a longer list Gauff would have finished in the top 125, however freeskier Eileen Gu, who ranked second in the women’s list at $22.1 million, would have finished outside the top 250.
While world-famous soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo topped global rankings for the second year with $260 million in earnings.
$215 million of that came from his Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr while $45 million was earned off the field.
According to GQ’s list of the 15 highest-paid Australian athletes of 2024, all 15 were men.
The highest-paid Australian athlete is Brooklyn Nets basketball player Ben Simmons, who earned a whopping $60.5 million playing in the NBL in 2024.
Matilda’s captain Sam Kerr just fell short of the list earning A$3.34 million in 2024.
Despite what these results indicate, women’s sports around the world had a strong year in 2024 with record-breaking attendance, high TV ratings and franchise sales.
Interest earned alone from sponsors helped the 15 highest-paid female athletes earn an estimated US$221 million last year, up 27% year-over-year.
In 2024, just 11 women made at least $10 million, compared to only six in 2023.
Last year marks the fourth year Sportico has reported on the top-earning athletes.
In the first two instances, female athletes were featured in the top 100 list.
The sports business publication says female representation among the highest-paid athletes has always been sporadic.
Since 2010, there have never been more than three women among the top earners and typically only one or two.
Sportico suggested that the issue is that the cutoff to crack the top 100 continues to get higher and higher each year, mainly driven by TV contracts that have boosted salary caps, primarily in the NFL and NBA - together making up 60% of the top 100 in 2024.
