Soccer is the world’s most popular sport. So the world’s most marketable athlete must be a soccer player, right?
Not this year.
Basketball? Golf? Tennis?
All widely played around the world, and all good guesses.
In 2025, however, the athlete making the most money from sponsorships and endorsements is a baseball player: the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, of course.
Ohtani made an estimated $100 million in marketing revenue, Sportico reported Wednesday, followed by the Lakers’ LeBron James at $85 million, soccer stars Lionel Messi ($70 million) and Cristiano Ronaldo ($60 million) and golfer Rory McIlroy ($55 million).
Ohtani joined the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, tennis star Roger Federer and golf icon Tiger Woods as the only athletes ever to hit $100 million in annual marketing revenue, according to Sportico.
In Ohtani, whose face appears on everything from airplanes to skin care products, baseball at long last has its Michael Jordan: the superstar that has transcended sports and ascended to the status of global pop culture icon.
The timing could not be better for baseball — or worse.
Two months ago, a dramatic World Series captured record numbers of viewers around the world. Two months from now, the World Baseball Classic takes center stage — led by Ohtani and the defending champions from Japan.
However, 11 months from now, baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires. If owners lock out players in pursuit of a salary cap or other salary restrictions, the 2027 season would be at risk, and the face of sport could disappear along with some or all of the season schedule.
The leaders in annual marketing revenue among athletes prior to 2025, according to Sportico: Curry ($100 million) in 2024; James ($80 million) in 2023; James ($90 million) in 2022; and mixed martial artist Conor McGregor ($180 million) in 2021.
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