The best-paid athlete in 2021 on social media is Cristiano Ronaldo, who bags almost $1.25 million for every single one of his Instagram posts.
The Juventus star makes over $374,662 more than his nearest rival on the list in Lionel Messi. Considering Ronaldo has over 77 million Instagram followers than the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, it’s not all that surprising.
In fact, Ronaldo is the most followed Instagram user and even recently became the first person to hit over 500 million followers on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
More interesting is the fact that 18 of the 20 highest earners on social media are all footballers.
According to Bonus Finder, only two players from NBA, LeBron James and Steph Curry made the cut.
Top 20 best-earning sportsperson in 2021 on various social media platforms.
| Pos | Athlete | Sport | Pay-per-post |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Football | $1,247,157.70 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Football | $873,495.67 |
| 3 | Neymar | Football | $703,649.29 |
| 4 | LeBron James | Basketball | $379,485.34 |
| 5 | David Beckham | Football | $316,399.54 |
| 6 | James Rodriguez | Football | $226,138.32 |
| 7 | Kylian Mbappe | Football | $225,167.77 |
| 8 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Football | $225,167.77 |
| 9 | Marcelo | Football | $224,197.23 |
| 10 | Gareth Bale | Football | $212,065.34 |
| 11 | Sergio Ramos | Football | $208,183.13 |
| 12 | Paul Pogba | Football | $208,183.13 |
| 13 | Paulo Dybala | Football | $198,477.63 |
| 14 | Luis Suarez | Football | $191,198.50 |
| 15 | Karim Benzema | Football | $180,037.17 |
| 16 | Andres Iniesta | Football | $173,728.58 |
| 17 | Steph Curry | Basketball | $157,714.50 |
| 18 | Antoine Griezmann | Football | $154,802.85 |
| 19 | Dani Alves | Football | $153,832.30 |
| 20 | Zinedine Zidane | Football | $134,906.56 |
