No female athlete in top 100 highest-paid list: Sportico

According to Sportico's latest report, no female athlete has made it to the top 100 highest-paid athletes list.

This comes despite impressive growth across various metrics in women’s sports in 2024, including attendance, television ratings, and franchise sales. Sponsorship deals have contributed to a 27% year-over-year increase in earnings for the top 15 female athletes, who collectively earned an estimated $221 million last year.

Coco Gauff, the highest-paid female athlete of 2024, earned $30.4 million, but this fell short of the $37.5 million required to make the top 100 list. Had the list extended further, Gauff would have ranked 125th. Freeskier Eileen Gu, who earned $22.1 million, would have likely been placed outside the top 250.

This marks the fourth annual ranking of the world’s highest-paid athletes, with female athletes historically underrepresented in the top echelons.

Tennis players have consistently made up the majority of top earners, and in 2024, nine out of the 15 highest-paid female athletes were from tennis. Gauff is only the third woman in history to surpass $30 million in a single year, following in the footsteps of Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka.

While women’s sports continue to show strong growth, especially in sponsorships, the income disparity between male and female athletes remains vast.

Men dominate the top 100 rankings, with soccer and basketball players accounting for nearly 60% of the total earnings. The top 100 athletes earned a combined $6.2 billion in 2024, a 14% increase from the previous year.

In contrast, women’s sports leagues like the WNBA and NWSL still struggle with significantly lower salaries and revenue compared to their male counterparts.

Pay gap narrowing:

The gender pay gap is prevalent across many industries, and sports are no exception. However, the disparity in pay varies widely between different sports, with some like tennis offering comparable earnings for men and women, while others, such as basketball, see stark differences in player salaries.

The primary reason behind these pay gaps is largely tied to the revenue generated by their respective leagues. This revenue depends on factors such as sponsorships, which in turn are influenced by fan attendance, viewership, support, and the level of interest in the sport.

Instead of questioning why female athletes earn less, the focus should be on why there's less fan and sponsor engagement in women's sports — this is where the outrage should lie.

Recent studies show, however, that the income disparity between male and female athletes has significantly narrowed in recent years.

In 2024, NBA teams collectively earned an estimated $11.6 billion, or $387 million per team. This revenue surge was driven by increased sponsorship, non-NBA events, and the concert business.

In contrast, the WNBA generated around $18 million in revenue in 2024, though expectations for substantial growth are high in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, held in India, shattered broadcast and digital viewing records, making it the largest World Cup to date. The event, which saw Australia claim its sixth title, attracted a record 1 trillion global live viewing minutes.

In comparison, the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup set a new benchmark as the most-watched women’s tournament in history, with Australia defeating South Africa in the final. The International Cricket Council (ICC) reported 192 million global viewing hours, a 44% increase from 2020.

Cristiano Ronaldo remained the highest-paid athlete globally in 2024, earning $260 million, including $215 million from his contract with Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr. The dominance of men’s sports is further reflected in the figures, with the top 100 being overwhelmingly male.