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The elite athletes in professional sports keep pushing the boundaries of contract values.
On Wednesday, quarterback Patrick Mahomes became the latest star to do just that. Despite coming off a difficult season in which he tore his ACL and the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time during his tenure, he remains a three-time Super Bowl champion and one of the premier players in the game. Accordingly, he inked a landmark extension that made him the first half-billion-dollar player in NFL history.
But how does Mahomes's new deal stack up against the highest-paid athletes across the four major U.S. professional sports leagues? Below is a breakdown of the top earners in the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, along with the highest-paid athletes in U.S. women's sports.
The 10 highest-paid athletes in U.S. sports
Here are the 10 highest-paid athletes across the four major U.S. professional sports, ranked by total contract value.
Athlete | Sport | Total Contract Value | Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Juan Soto | MLB | $765 million | $51 million |
Shohei Ohtani | MLB | $700 million | $70 million |
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | MLB | $500 million | $35.71 million |
Patrick Mahomes | NFL | $504.75 million | $64 million |
Mike Trout | MLB | $426.5 million | $35.54 million |
Mookie Betts | MLB | $365 million | $30.42 million |
Aaron Judge | MLB | $360 million | $40 million |
Manny Machado | MLB | $350 million | $31.82 million |
Francisco Lindor | MLB | $341 million | $34.1 million |
Fernando Tatis Jr. | MLB | $340 million | $24.28 million |
The largest contract across the four major U.S. male professional sports leagues belongs to outfielder Juan Soto, who agreed to a 15-year, $765 million deal to depart the Yankees for the Mets in 2024. The Dodgers' versatile star Shohei Ohtani holds the top spot in annual salary, averaging $70 million per year across his 10-year contract—though a significant portion of his earnings has been deferred.
The highest-paid athletes across the four major U.S. sports leagues are overwhelmingly MLB players. This is largely expected, given that MLB features by far the longest season and players tend to sign considerably longer contracts than in the NFL—and it certainly helps that the league operates without a salary cap, at least for now.
The sole non-MLB star to appear on the list above is Chiefs quarterback and NFL icon Patrick Mahomes, who recently agreed to a record-breaking extension with Kansas City running through the 2033 season. Mahomes's deal now totals $504.75 million with an average annual value of $64 million, positioning him as the highest-paid player in the league by both total value and per-year salary.
The highest-paid athlete in the four major U.S. professional sports
Sport | Athlete | Total Contract Value | Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
MLB | Juan Soto | $765,000,000 | $51 million |
NFL | Patrick Mahomes | $504,750,000 | $64 million |
NBA | Jayson Tatum | $313,933,410 | $62.79 million |
NHL | Kirill Kaprizov | $136,000,000 | $17 million |
MLB has long dominated the conversation around the largest contracts in U.S. professional sports, with Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani comfortably surpassing the earnings of every other star athlete. While 14 baseball players boast a higher total contract value than NBA top earner Jayson Tatum, only two NFL players exceed his total salary: Mahomes and Josh Allen.
In the NHL, Kirill Kaprizov leads the league as its highest-paid player, with a total contract value of $136 million and an average annual salary of $17 million. He is among just four players in the league with a contract exceeding $100 million, alongside Leon Draisaitl, Jack Eichel and Nathan MacKinnon.
Highest-paid female athletes in U.S. sports
Although the highest-paid female athletes still earn significantly less than their male counterparts, their salaries are on the rise as women's sports continue to grow in popularity. Here's a look at the top earners in the two major U.S. women's team sports leagues—the WNBA and NWSL.
The new collective bargaining agreement delivered raises across virtually the entire WNBA, with the league's top players surpassing the $1 million salary threshold for the first time ever. Three-time WNBA MVP and champion A'ja Wilson leads the league in pay after signing a three-year, $5 million contract with an average annual salary of $1.667 million.
In the NWSL, Catarina Macario claimed the title of the league's highest-paid player after signing with the San Diego Wave through the 2030 season on a deal valued at approximately $8 million. She surpassed Trinity Rodman, who had agreed to a three-year contract worth more than $2 million per year back in January.
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Eva Geitheim is an NFL writer at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in December 2024, she contributed to Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A native of the Bay Area, she holds a bachelor's degree in communications from UCLA. Outside of writing, she enjoys baking and rewatching Gilmore Girls.