Two Nigerians Make Forbes World’s 50 Highest-Paid Athletes 2023 List

 
Forbes has listed two Nigerians in its 2023 list of highest paid athletes in the world.
 
Baskekball star, Giannis Antetokounmpo was named number 11 in the list, earning $87.6M

In December 2020, Antetokounmpo signed a five-year, $228 million supermax extension with the Bucks, with an opt-out after the fourth year.
Antetokounmpo was named the NBA’s MVP for 2018-19 and 2019-20 and was also defensive player of the year for the latter season.
The first MVP nod triggered huge bonuses from sponsors like Nike, which extended its deal with the Greek Freak in 2017.
Nike released the Zoom Freak 1 in 2019; it was the largest initial signature shoe launch in Nike basketball history.
Disney secured a deal in 2020 to develop a movie around Antetokounmpo’s life, along the lines of “The Blind Side.” The film, titled “Rise,” was released on Disney+ in June 2022.

Sponsors:
 
Amazon, Breitling, Come Ready Foods LLC, Epic Games, Google, JBL, Meta, Nike, Unilever
 

 
Also on the list is Anthony Joshua who was listed on number 28.
 
He earned a staggering $53M

Joshua won his first 22 pro fights and was a world heavyweight champion from 2016 to 2019, until a stunning loss to Andy Ruiz Jr.
The Brit avenged the loss later in 2019 with a unanimous decision. He lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022 but got back on track with a win over Jermaine Franklin in April 2023.
He has a massive social media following, with 26 million followers across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Sponsors:
 
Audemars Piguet, DAZN, Under Armour