What’s different about Giannis Antetokounmpo situation this offseason?
What’s different about the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation this offseason? Jim Owczarski discusses next moves for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Forbes magazine released its list of the 50 highest-paid athletes in the world, combining on-field and off-field earnings, and athletes with Wisconsin ties have a fairly significant footprint.
Coming in at No. 13 is Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks star worth an estimated $94.4 million in total earnings ($49.4 off-court and $45 on-court). He ranked fourth among basketball players, behind Stephen Curry (No. 2 at $156 million), LeBron James (No. 6 at $133.8 million) and Kevin Durant (No. 10 at $101.4 million).
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo ($275 million) easily holds the top spot on the list. Boxer Tyson Fury ($146) sits third, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott ($137) stands in fourth and soccer star Lionel Messi ($135) lands in fifth.
Other athletes ahead of Antetokounmpo are baseball players Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani, soccer player Karim Benzema, boxer Oleksandr Usyk and golfer Jon Rahm.
Then, there’s Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who comes in at No. 19 at $83 million, even with only $4 million of off-field earnings. That ranks him almost as high as Patrick Mahomes ($86.8 million) and just ahead of fellow NFL quarterbacks Jared Goff and Trevor Lawrence.
Antetokounmpo’s teammate with the Bucks, Damian Lillard, comes in at No. 29 at $67.5 million, with $18 million coming from off-field earnings.
Former Marquette University standout Jimmy Butler sits in No. 37 at $60.4 million, and former University of Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson is tied for 49th with $53.6 million.
Forbes writers Brett Knight and Justin Birnbaum indicate in the preamble that the lowest earner on the list has seen a 19% increase from last year’s No. 50 ($45.2 million), which was already a record. In 2017, the 50th athlete earned $27.2 million.