According to Forbes, LeBron James earned a total of $119.5 million throughout the past 12 months, making him the highest-paid athlete in the country.
While James earns $44.5 million playing for the Lakers, it is his extracurricular activities that set him apart from other basketball players.
James has a share in Fenway Sports Group, which owns Liverpool, the Boston Red Sox, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, in addition to endorsement deals with Nike and other companies.
Additionally, he owns the SpringHill Company, a sports entertainment company that, among other things, produces James' roundtable show "The Shop" for HBO.
James, one of five Americans on the list, is the fourth-highest paid athlete in the world, with Dustin Johnson coming in at number six.
After joining the league supported by Saudi Arabia, the LIV golfer earned an amazing $102 million, including a tour-best $35.6 million in prize money.
Additionally, he earned $5 million off the course.
At the bottom of the list, Johnson's LIV coworker Phil Mickelson (No. 7) earned $106 million, followed by Stephen Curry (No. 8) and Kevin Durant (No. 10), who each earned $100.4 million and $89.1 million.
While Durant recently signed a lifetime contract with Nike and has investments in the Philadelphia Union, the Premier Lacrosse League, and other entities, Curry has a long-term contract with Under Armour and a partnership with Chase Bank.
The top three earners on the list, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappe, all play soccer and earned a combined $136 million, $130 million, and $120 million, respectively.
According to Forbes, Ronaldo has earned an estimated $46 million from his on-field activities, which "blends together his two [Manchester United and Al-Nassr] contracts for this season and accounts for his brief unemployment," and nearly twice that much from off-field endorsements.
According to Forbes, the Portuguese striker signed a massive contract for an estimated $75 million per year with Al-Nassr in January.
Messi, on the other hand, made $65 million off the field from sponsorship deals with PepsiCo, Budweiser, and Adidas.
And Mbappe, who was enticed to stay at PSG by the richest deal in soccer, earned $100 million playing for PSG during the previous 12 months.
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