Sportico’s latest report on the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes is out, and once again, the lineup is exclusively male. It finds no women in the top 100 highest-paid athletes. The rankings, based on salaries, bonuses, prize money, endorsements, and other earnings, featured athletes from eight sports and 27 countries. Yet, for the second year in a row, not one women athlete made the list.
2024 was a record-breaking year for women in sports. More fans attended games than ever before, TV ratings reached all-time highs, and the value of women’s sports franchises increased significantly. Major brands invested in sponsorships, and stadiums were consistently full. Despite this success, women athletes are not earning at the same level as their male counterparts.
All the talk about closing the gender pay gap in sports has not changed the fact that men still dominate the top-earning list. And no, the problem is not limited to sports.
Women Athletes Break Records, But Not Pay Barriers
U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff was the top-earning woman athlete in 2024 with $30.4 million. An impressive sum until you realise it wasn’t enough to reach the top 100. In fact, she fell over $7 million short of the $37.5 million minimum needed to make the list.
Gauff would have landed at No. 125 if the list had been longer, but still nowhere near the highest-paid male athlete. Meanwhile, freeskier Eileen Gu, the second-highest-paid woman with $22.1 million, wouldn’t even make the top 250. That’s also over an $8 million gap between the two highest-paid women in sports.
No Women in the Top 100 highest-paid Athletes: Men Dominating Payouts
On the other side of the earnings spectrum, Cristiano Ronaldo topped the global rankings for the second consecutive year, raking in $260 million. His paycheck from Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr alone totalled $215 million, with another $45 million coming from sponsorships and endorsements. That means Ronaldo alone earned about 8.55 times what Gauff did.
Following Ronaldo, with reported earnings of $153.8 million, is Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry. Tyson Fury, Lionel Messi and LeBron James round out the top five.
Just One Genuinely Successful Professional Women’s Sport?
Women athletes making the list of highest-paid sports stars has always been a rarity. Since 2010, no more than three women have ever made the cut in a single year, and most years, it’s just one or two. Only four women—Sharapova, Williams, Li Na, and Osaka—have ever made the list, all from tennis.
Tennis remains the only sport producing top-paid women athletes. Even in 2024, tennis dominates women’s sports earnings, with nine of the top 15 women athletes coming from the sport. We have other women’s sports continue to grow in popularity and visibility, but only tennis has managed to create actual financial opportunities for its top players.
Tennis is the only professional women’s sport that has reached the same level of success as the men’s game in terms of prize money, media coverage, and global recognition. Even the 2024 Wimbledon Championships awarded equal monetary prizes to the winners of the Men’s and Women’s tournaments.
The Gender Pay Gap in Sports
The gap in earnings between male and female athletes isn’t just about how much they make. It’s about where the money comes from. For the top 100 highest-paid male athletes, salaries and prize money accounted for 77% of their total earnings. Even when looking at the top 15, this figure remained high at 72%. Meanwhile, for the top-earning women, only 29% of their income came from actual competition.
What does this mean? While male athletes primarily earn through their contracts, women rely heavily on sponsorships and endorsements. In fact, women rely on off-field endorsements two times more than men do. While men cash in on contracts, women must prove they’re valuable beyond the game. Yet, women continue to be underrepresented in both product endorsements and marketing campaigns for their sport.
So, if women aren’t securing big contracts and their endorsement opportunities are limited, how exactly are they supposed to close this gender pay gap in sports?
No Women in the Top 100 Highest-Paid Athletes: The Final Thoughts
The excitement around women’s sports is growing, but until that turns into bigger salaries and fairer contracts, the gender pay gap will remain as wide as ever. Even with more visibility, women athletes are underrepresented in product endorsements and sports marketing campaigns. Visibility is important, but visibility without financial backing is just another empty promise.
Changeincontent perspective
The fact that no women were among the 100 highest-paid athletes in 2024 reflects systemic inequities that persist in sports and beyond. Salaries, sponsorships, and media coverage still favour men. They leave women athletes fighting for financial recognition despite breaking records and filling stadiums.
At Changeincontent, we believe that representation without real financial equity is just performative progress. Women’s sports deserve equal contracts, sponsorships, and visibility—not just symbolic gestures. The real change will come when brands, leagues, and governing bodies commit to investing in women’s sports at the same level as men’s. Until then, headlines will continue to highlight success without true reward.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are based on the writer’s insights, supported by data and resources available both online and offline, as applicable. Changeincontent.com is committed to promoting inclusivity across all forms of content. We broadly define inclusivity as media, policies, law, and history—encompassing all elements that influence the lives of women and gender-queer individuals. Our goal is to promote understanding and advocate for comprehensive inclusivity.
