McIlroy 19th as LIV contracts shake up Forbes’ Richest Athletes list

Rory McIlroy has been listed at 19 in the Forbes annual list of the world’s highest paid athletes.

McIlroy takes in a total yearly earning of $80.1 million which makes him the second highest paid golfer in the world.

The highest paid golfer is Jon Rahm who controversially moved to LIV Golf at the end of 2023.

The Spaniard takes in a yearly earning of $218 million which places him second in the list of highest paid athletes behind Cristiano Ronaldo who earns $260 million.

According to Forbes, $198 million of Rahm’s sum came from his on course earnings and contacts while approximately $20 million came in from off course affairs, mainly through endorsements.

Rahm was not on last years ranking but his move to LIV has seen him shake up the rankings of highest paid athletes with his deal at the Saudi backed golf tour rumoured to be set at $300 million paid over multiple years.

Rahm earned four PGA TOUR wins between January 2023 and April 2023 including the Masters for his second major title.

He officially earned $16.5 million in prize money on the PGA Tour last season

Rahm is winless in his seven starts on LIV Golf despite not finishing outside the top-10 in the limited player field.

Tiger Woods is 23rd in the list with $67.2 million while world number one Scottie Scheffler is 29th on $59.2 million.

LIV golfer Cameron Smith cracks the top-50 in 43rd with $48 million.

Golfers who have moved to LIV Golf have become commonplace on the Forbes richest with Dustin Johnson (6) and Phil Mickelson (7) the only golfers inside the top-10 on last years list which meant that for the first time Tiger Woods was not the highest paid golfer in the world.