We play sports to keep ourselves active and to entertain ourselves, but internationally it’s not just sports but an investment and business of billions and millions of dollars. Sports have already a successful business as it is popular among all ages.

Moreover, it is connected to people’s feelings and emotions and can bring happiness and sadness quickly. It’s not wrong to say that it’s among one of the Richest industries in the world.

It gathers various cultures and introduces them to each other. Secondly, it increases the revenue of the sports industry. The estimated value of this industry is $1.3 trillion and can increase to $21 billion by 2023.

The U.S. holds the most money, around $520 billion. However, athletes are also paid millions annually for their professional work. Now let us know which are the Richest Sports in the world.

List of Richest Sports in The World Right Now

Soccer

In Soccer, two teams will 11 players play against each other to make goals with a ball in 90 minutes. Almost 200 nations play this sport, and that’s why it’s the most popular and one of the richest sports in the world.

The International Federation of Association Football executes the football world cup yearly, both for men and women. 43% of total financial sports belong to Soccer which is $600 billion.

According to the Forbes list, Lionel Messi is the richest footballer, worth $130 million. He’s the Argentina national team captain, winning 6 Golden European shoes and 6 Balloon d’Or titles.

Christian Ronald, worth $115 million, is in second place and plays for Portugal’s national team. He plays with club Juventus and Series A. He got five Balloon d’Or titles and four Golden European shoes.

American Football (NFL)

American Football is only played in the United States and has a market value of $200 million. With a net worth of $200 billion, it is in second rank in the list of richest sports in the world. As per Forbes NFL has Tom Brady player, who is among the richest players in the world.

Also Read: Richest Sports Leagues in The World

Further, he’s the best quarter of all time and won the super bowl at 41. The normal wage of an NFL athlete is $2.4 million per annum. NFL team got a revenue of $11.39 million the previous year, which is beyond imagination. That’s why it’s the sporting carnival in the United States.

Basketball

Basketball is the 3rd world’s richest sport, with annual revenue of $90 billion. According to reports, basketball players earn around $3.8 million annually. While in 2021-22, NBA earned $10 billion in revenue.

This sport is more popular in Canada, the USA, and Australia than in other countries. Moreover, they have deals with various endorsements.

Undoubtedly, this sport owns some of the richest players around the world. Forbes says that LeBron James and L.A. Lakers are among the NBA’s richest players.

Ice Hockey

Ice hockey is a winter game in which players play on the ice stake. Ice Hockey is one of the top 5 richest sports in the world, with a net worth of $60 billion.

NHL is the most popular competition in Ice Hockey, making $6.1 billion in revenue in the 2021-22 edition. Each NHL franchise has a share of $140m from this revenue.

In NHL, the player’s average annual salary is $2.2 million. Toronto Maple Leafs and Austin Matthews earned $15.9 million and became the sport’s top earners.

Baseball

Baseball is very popular in the United state but not in other countries. So it’s hard for any country to earn enormous amounts of money from this sport.

This sport has great money, so the young generation United States should not miss the opportunity to be a professional baseball player. Its annual revenue is about $40 billion, so it is in 5th rank in the list of richest sports in the world.

Although it has few market shares, the annual salary of its professional athletes is $8.5 million. The previous year Major League Baseball earned $89.57 million in revenue.

Golf

When we hear the word golf, it comes to mind that it’s a game of rich people. According to the news, its total value is $7 billion, and it has become one of the richest games in the world.

According to the Golf Adviser, this game welcomed 2.6 million new players in 2018. On average, a golfer earns $80k in a year. Tiger Wolf is one of the greatest golfers ever, earning $22 million last year.

Cricket

Cricket has 170 years old history. After the launching of T20 cricket in the last decade game has expanded globally to over 100 countries. CNBC reported in 2018 that the major part of the money in cricket comes from India.

Certainly, its net worth is around $6 billion this year, which helps it become the world’s wealthiest sport. Indian Premier League is the biggest carnival of crickets, earning $633.62 million last year.

Also Read: Richest Cricket Boards in the World

In IPL, every team made an average revenue of $79 million. In 2023 the annual salary of a professional player reached At $60k. 

Tennis

The annual revenue of tennis is $6.6 billion; with this figure, it’s on the list of richest sports. Some performers are on the list of richest players in the world.

Rafael Nadal earns $40 million annually; the second is Roger Federer, earning $90.7 million yearly. On the other hand, average tennis players earn $30k per year.

Motorsports

The global motorsports market is $5+ billion; by 2016, it’s estimated to reach $9 billion in revenue. Motorsports stand in 9th place in the list of richest sports in the world.

It’s 2023, and an average player receives $70k every year. Besides this, a racer can earn over $200k in a big event. To clarify, last season’s Formula One earned $1.83 million in revenue. Lewis Hamilton earned $82 million this year, so he is added to the list of richest players in the world.

Boxing

Boxing is played in two formats, the first is amateur, and the second is played professionally. If you play professionally, then you receive money, but on the contrary, other formats don’t pay you.

You will be playing for your honor and prestige. Its players make $50k on average per year. Last year the professional boxers made $348 million. Boxing Sport’s net worth is unknown, but it is still one of the richest sports on the earth.