A new study reveals the world’s highest-earning athletes on Instagram, with Cristiano Ronaldo taking over £5 million a year.
The research, conducted by the team at Spin Genie, looked at the top athletes in the world and their salaries to discover the highest-earning sports stars. The study also looks at their follower count on Instagram and their maximum potential Instagram earnings per sponsored post.
The Top 10 Athletes With Potential Earnings On Instagram:
|
Rank
|
Name
|
Instagram Followers
|
Instagram name
|
Maximum potential Instagram earnings per post (GBP)
|
|
1
|
Cristiano Ronaldo
|
602,000,000
|
cristiano
|
£5,499,235
|
|
2
|
Lionel Messi
|
483,000,000
|
leomessi
|
£4,438,668
|
|
3
|
Virat Kohli
|
257,000,000
|
virat.kohli
|
£2,356,815
|
|
4
|
Neymar Jr
|
213,000,000
|
neymarjr
|
£1,971,869
|
|
5
|
Lebron James
|
158,000,000
|
kingjames
|
£1,445,513
|
|
6
|
Kylian Mbappe
|
107,000,000
|
k.mbappe
|
£1,013,430
|
|
7
|
Karim Benzema
|
74,000,000
|
karimbenzema
|
£678,763
|
|
8
|
Marcelo Vieira Jr
|
65,100,000
|
marcelotwelve
|
£593,917
|
|
9
|
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
|
62,600,000
|
iamzlatanibrahimovic
|
£576,634
|
|
10
|
Mohamed Salah
|
61,900,000
|
mosalah
|
£569,564
|
Taking the top spot is Cristiano Ronaldo, who ranks first for social media earnings. His Instagram account currently has 602 million followers, and he can earn up to £5,499,235 per sponsored post on the platform. Some of the brands that Ronaldo has partnered with include Herbalife, Louis Vuitton, and TAG Heuer. His biggest brand partnership is with Nike; in 2016, he became the third athlete in history to sign a lifetime deal with the brand.
Following up in second place is Lionel Messi. With 483 million followers on Instagram, he stands to earn up to £4,438,668 for each sponsored social media post. Messi also has some massive brand partnerships, including Pepsi, Mastercard, Budweiser and his biggest one, Adidas, with which he has a lifetime deal.
Rounding out the top three is Virat Kohli, the former captain of the Indian national cricket team. He has around 257 million followers on Instagram, making him make up to £2,356,815 per sponsored post on the site. Some of Kohli’s biggest brand partnerships are with banking company HSBC, wearables brand Noise and Essilor, a French eye-wear company.
Further research shows American soccer player Alex Morgan is the highest-paid female athlete in the world with an athlete salary of £55,615,012 a year. The striker captains the San Diego Wave FC and is a prominent member of the United States women’s national soccer team while Andrew Wiggins comes out as the highest-earning Canadian athlete in our social athlete-rich list, with just over £21 million annual earnings. The vast majority of this sum comes from his yearly salary as a basketball player for the Golden State Warriors. Wiggins also earns around £20,426 from sponsored Instagram posts he makes.
