Dustin Johnson Becomes Highest Paid Golfer: 12 Golfers Make the 2023 Forbes List

We’re back with the money talk.

Forbes has released the figures on the highest-paid athletes in sport, with 12 golfers catapulting into the top 50 names.

Cristiano Ronaldo sits at the top, with $136m in earnings after moving from Manchester United to Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. Last year, Phil Mickelson topped the Forbes list after signing with LIV for a reported $200 million. The cut-off for the top 50 was $45.2m in earnings over the last 12 months, with the total earnings in the top 50 athletes at $3.44 billion, up 16% from last year.

The majority of earnings is on the field, salaries, bonuses, and prize money – with approximately $1.08bn coming from endorsements and other business ventures.

The golfer breakdown is as follows;

• 12 golfers in the top 50 (8 LIV Golfers, 4 PGA Tour golfers)
• Four times as many golfers in the list as last year
• There are 7 golfers in the top 20 on the list, five of whom play on the LIV Tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dustin Johnson

• Tour: LIV Golf
• Overall Forbes Rank: 6^th
• Golfer Rank: 1^st
• Earnings: $107m

Phil Mickelson

• Tour: LIV Golf
• Overall Forbes Rank: 7^th
• Golfer Rank: 2^nd
• Earnings: $106m

Rory McIlroy

• Tour: PGA Tour
• Overall Forbes Rank: 15^th
• Golfer Rank: 3^rd
• Earnings: $80.8m

Tiger Woods

• Tour: PGA Tour
• Overall Forbes Rank: 16^th
• Golfer Rank: 4th
• Earnings: $75.1m

Cameron Smith

• Tour: LIV Golf
• Overall Forbes Rank: 17^th
• Golfer Rank: 5th
• Earnings: $73m

Brooks Koepka

• Tour: LIV Golf
• Overall Forbes Rank: 18^th
• Golfer Rank: 6^th
• Earnings: $72m

Bryson DeChambeau

• Tour: LIV Golf
• Overall Forbes Rank: 20^th
• Golfer Rank: 7^th
• Earnings: $69m

Jon Rahm

• Tour: PGA Tour
• Overall Forbes Rank: 28^th
• Golfer Rank: 8^th
• Earnings: $53m

Patrick Reed

• Tour: LIV Golf
• Overall Forbes Rank: 32^nd
• Golfer Rank: 9^th
• Earnings: $52m

Jordan Spieth

• Tour: PGA Tour
• Overall Forbes Rank: 43^rd
• Golfer Rank: 10^th
• Earnings: $47.5m

Scottie Scheffler

• Tour: PGA Tour
• Overall Forbes Rank: 45^th
• Golfer Rank: 11^th
• Earnings: $47.1m

Sergio Garcia

• Tour: LIV Golf
• Overall Forbes Rank: 46^th
• Golfer Rank: 12^th
• Earnings: $46m

Cover Image Via LIV Golf & TaylorMade