Who Is the Highest Paid Sports Agent?
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The highest paid sports agent represents athletes in a variety of sports. They negotiate contracts, handle finances, and provide legal representation.
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The World’s Highest-Paid Sports Agents
Scott Boras
As of 2018, the highest-paid sports agent in the world was Scott Boras. Boras is a baseball agent, and he represents some of the biggest names in Major League Baseball. He has negotiated contracts worth billions of dollars for his clients, and he is widely considered to be the most powerful agent in baseball. In addition to baseball, Boras also represents clients in other sports, such as basketball, football, and hockey.
Leigh Steinberg
Leigh Steinberg is an American sports agent. He has represented many professional football players, including eight No. 1 overall National Football League (NFL) draft picks. He is credited with coining the term “super agent”.
Steinberg was born in Los Angeles, California, and is a graduate of Punahou School and the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his law degree from USC Gould School of Law. While at Berkeley, he was a brother of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. After graduation, he worked as an attorney for several years before becoming a sports agent.
In the early 1980s, Steinberg founded Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment, Inc., which grew to become one of the largest sports agencies in the world. His clientele has included Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Jarett Dillard and Maria Sharapova. He has negotiated over $3 billion in contract value for his clients.
In 1992, Steinberg was featured in the film Jerry Maguire starring Tom Cruise, which was loosely based on his career as a sports agent. In 2006, he published The Agent: My 40-Year Career Making Deals and Changing the Game of Sports, co-written with Michael Lewis.
Drew Rosenhaus
Drew Rosenhaus is an American sports agent who is the founder and CEO of Rosenhaus Sports Representation. He specializes in representing NFL players and has negotiated over $1 billion in NFL player contracts. He is also a well-known TV personality, appearing as a regular guest on ESPN’s “First Take” and other shows. In 2019, he was named the world’s highest-paid sports agent by Forbes, with an estimated annual income of $40 million.
The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes
Sports agents are some of the richest people in the world. They make a commission off of everything their clients make, and the top agents make a lot of money. The highest-paid sports agent in the world is likely baseball agent Scott Boras. He has represented some of the biggest names in baseball, and his clients have made him very rich.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo, the world’s highest-paid soccer player, earned an astounding $88 million in 2020. This includes $60 million in salary and $28 million in endorsements. He currently plays for Juventus FC of Italy’s Serie A. In May 2021, Forbes ranked him as the world’s first billionaire soccer player.
Ronaldo’s huge earnings are thanks to both hisSporting Lisbon and Real Madrid contracts, as well as his many lucrative endorsement deals. For example, he has a lifetime contract with Nike that is reportedly worth a whopping $1 billion. He also has deals with other major brands, such as Herbalife, American Tourister, and DAZN.
In 2019, Ronaldo launched his own line of CR7 branded underwear, shirts, shoes, and fragrance. And in 2020, he teamed up with Pestana Hotel Group to launch a chain of luxury hotels called Pestana CR7 Hotels. The first two properties opened in Madrid and Lisbon.
LeBron James
LeBron James, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, is currently the world’s highest-paid athlete. He has earned a total of $88.7 million over the past 12 months, including $53 million from endorsements. He is followed by Cristiano Ronaldo, who has earned $109 million, including $60 million from endorsements.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is a professional soccer player who has played for FC Barcelona and the Argentina National Team. He is widely considered to be one of the best soccer players in the world and has won numerous individual and team awards.
In 2017, Forbes ranked Messi as the world’s highest-paid athlete, with earnings of $127 million. He topped the list ahead of other global stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo ($108 million), LeBron James ($77.2 million), and Roger Federer ($77.2 million).
Messi’s earnings are largely derived from his salaries and bonuses from FC Barcelona and endorsements with companies such as Adidas, Gatorade, Huawei, and Pepsi. In 2016, he signed a lifetime contract with Barcelona that is reportedly worth $646 million.
The World’s Highest-Paid Sports Teams
Soccer teams are among the world’s most valuable sports franchises, with the average team now worth $1.65 billion. The highest-paid sports team in the world is the Spanish soccer club Real Madrid, which is worth $4.24 billion. The second highest-paid sports team is the English soccer club Manchester United, which is worth $3.81 billion.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid, the world’s highest-paid sports team, brought in a total pay of $857 million last year. That’s an average of $7.1 million per player, and it’s more than any other team in any other sport. The team is owned by Spanish football club Real Madrid. Its players include some of the world’s most popular athletes, like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, and Luka Modric.
Barcelona
With an annual revenue of €840.8 million, Barcelona is the world’s highest-paid sports team. The Spanish giants generate the majority of their revenue from commercial activities, including sponsorship deals with the likes of Rakuten, Beko, and Qatar Airways.
Topping the list of Barcelona’s highest-paid players is Argentine forward Lionel Messi, who takes home a staggering €126 million per year. This makes him the highest-paid soccer player in the world and one of only two athletes (the other being NBA star LeBron James) to earn more than $100 million annually. Messi’s massive salary is a testament to his status as one of the greatest soccer players of all time.
Not far behind Messi is fellow Barcelona star and Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez, who earns €96 million per year. Rounding out the top three is Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho, who joined Barcelona from Liverpool in 2018 for a then-record fee of €160 million. He now earns €21 million annually, making him the third-highest-paid player on the team.
Manchester United
Manchester United, an English football club based in Greater Manchester, is the highest-paid sports team in the world. The club is worth an estimated $3.69 billion, and its players earn an average annual salary of $7.28 million. The team’s revenue comes primarily from broadcasting rights and commercial sponsorships. Manchester United has been one of the most successful football clubs in history, winning 20 league titles, 12 FA Cups, and 3 European Cups. Its legendary players include George Best, Bobby Charlton, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, and Cristiano Ronaldo.