Kevin Durant
The Brooklyn Nets forward made $75 million only for the last year. It is an all-time record among participants in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. By the way, it is not the first time the 32-year-old basketball player has taken part in the Olympics. He is a two-time Olympic champion. Durant has also been crowned the NBA champion twice. However, he generates income not only from his main activity. The athlete owns part of the Boardroom media company and Philadelphia Union MLS soccer club. He also is the co-founder of Thirty Five Ventures, a venture capital firm.
Naomi Osaka
The 23-year-old Japanese tennis player has beaten American Serena Williams on the court many times. Osaka has also earned more than Williams. Currently, she is the world’s highest-paid athlete. In the ranking of the highest-paid female and male athletes she takes 12th place. Last year, the four-time Grand Slam champion earned $60 million. Only just $5 million of her earnings came from prize money. Naomi Osaka teams up with Google, Louis Vuitton and Levi's. This year, Barbie also released a doll modeled on the tennis star. The entire batch of Osaka dolls was immediately sold out..
Damian Lillard
The NBA Portland Trail Blazers player has amassed more than $40 million in the last 12 months. However, the American basketball star makes a profit not only from winning games. The 31-year-old athlete receives most of his income from commercial projects. Lillard is known as the marketing magnet as he has contracts with Gatorade, Hulu, 2K Sports, and Adidas. In 2014, the athlete signed a 10-year contract with the latter company for $100 million. Besides, Lillard has his own music label, Front Page Music.
Novak Djokovic
The 34-year-old Serbian tennis player was the only one of the Big Three to take part in the 2020 Olympics (Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal refused to participate). Djokovic is currently ranked as the world’s number one singles player. He is also the all-time prize money leader in tennis history. Throughout his career, Djokovic has made more than $151 million. In the past year, the champion made a profit of $34.5 million. The tennis player earned $30 million of this sum from advertising and commercial projects. Djokovic partners with such famous companies as Lacoste, Peugeot, and NetJets.
Rory McIlroy
Today, the 32-year-old native of Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy, is one of the most successful and wealthiest golfers. The Irish champion earned a record $15 million in prize money for winning FedEx Cup in 2019. McIlroy's income for the past 12 months totaled $32 million. A considerable amount of this money came from advertising contracts. The athlete collaborates with Nike, Omega, and UnitedHealth Group.
Devin Booker
The Phoenix Suns shooting guard is 24 years old. He is known to be a rising NBA superstar. Devin is often compared to legendary Kobe Bryant, who died last year. Booker signed a contract with the club 3 years ago.The 5-year partnership with Phoenix Suns should bring him around $158 million. Nobody in the Phoenix Suns has ever earned such a high salary. Devin's profit totaled $30.5 million last year. Moreover, he made $7 million from teaming up with Nike and Call of Duty.
Kei Nishikori
Kei Nishikori, 31, has made a lasting impact on tennis in Japan. In 2014, he became the first Asian player in Grand Slam history to reach the men's final. Two years later, the athlete became the first Japanese to win an Olympic medal for 96 years. Over the past year, the tennis player has made more than $30 million. He received most of the profits from collaborating with companies that are official partners of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They are Lixil, Japan Airlines, and Nissin.