Cristiano Ronaldo has once again topped the list of the world's highest-paid athletes with total income of US$260 million in 2024, according to sports industry news site Sportico, but there were no women in the top 100. The leading 100, dominated by players from football, the NBA, NFL, golf and boxing, earned an estimated $6.2 billion in total income last year. The figure includes $4.8 billion in salary and prize money, plus $1.4 billion in endorsements. (All figures are in USD — US$1 = A$1.58) Former US Open tennis champion Coco Gauff was the top-earning female athlete last year at $30.4 million, well short of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daniel Jones who squeezed in at number 100 with a total income of $37.5 million. Ben Simmons was the only Australian in the top 100, coming in at 85th with a total of $41 million, placing him 32nd out of 36 NBA players on the list. Simmons just moved from Brooklyn to the LA Clippers, where he is the third-highest paid player behind Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, after playing just 90 of a possible 220 games in two-and-a-half seasons with the Nets. Ronaldo's lucrative contract with Saudi Arabian soccer team Al-Nassr ensured he retained top spot for a second straight year after he moved to the Saudi Pro League in December 2022. Sportico said the Portugal forward, who celebrated his 40th birthday last week, earned a hefty $215 million in wages while he also made $45 million in endorsements. Ronaldo is so far ahead of the other athletes in the world that Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who is second on the list, earned $153.8 million in comparison — more than $100 million short of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. British boxer Tyson Fury, who lost to Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk in a heavyweight clash in December, is third on the list at $147 million, with Usyk seventh ($122 million). The top five are rounded out by Inter Miami's Argentina captain Lionel Messi ($135 million) and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James ($133.2 million) — the only 40-year-old currently playing in the NBA. The top 100 is made up of athletes from eight sports and hailing from 27 countries. American Gauff, who is only 20, was the second-highest earner on the WTA tour behind world number one Aryna Sabalenka as she won $9.4 million in prize money in 2024, but has lucrative deals with New Balance and tennis racquet brand Head. Gauff could climb up the list in the years to come, emulating other women athletes who would have cracked the list in the past. Business magazine Forbes said Japan's four-time Grand Slam tennis champion Naomi Osaka was the world's highest-paid female athlete in 2022 after she pulled in $57.3 million in prize money and endorsements. Retired tennis great Serena Williams, who won 23 singles majors, earned $41.8 million in 2021 according to Forbes. The American retired from the sport in 2022 at the US Open. Reuters/ABC