Baseball stars dominate the top 10 highest sports contracts, with four entries. Football legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi surprisingly only rank 3rd and 4th respectively. Juan Soto claims the top spot with a record £598.
2m Mets deal after recently being assigned to free agency. As the world of sport evolves from its humble origins into a multi-billion-pound powerhouse, the contracts awarded to athletes are soaring to astonishing new heights each year. For football fans of a certain generation, the name Johnny Haynes of Fulham will forever be etched in history as the first player to secure a £100-per-week contract back in 1962—a figure that, at the time, seemed almost unimaginable.
Fast-forward to 2005, and Steven Gerrard made history as the first Premier League player to command a staggering £100,000 per week. Today, that figure is no longer extraordinary, with over 30 players now earning such sums . At the pinnacle of this financial arms race stands Kevin de Bruyne, whose weekly wage of £400,000 serves as a breathtaking reminder of how far the game has come.
However, it’s not just football where athletes are raking in a fortune. The franchise model in the USA has paved the way for stars in sports like baseball and the NFL to earn substantial paydays, while other sports such as boxing and golf continue to grow in prominence. With this in mind, we have taken a deep dive into the 10 biggest contracts in sporting history, thanks to Marca's latest report.
The 10.
