Nigerian basketball superstar Giannis is the only African among the top 10 highest-earning athletes

Forbes has released its annual list of highest-earning paid athletes in the world and basketball superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo is included in the top 10.

The Greek international basketballer of Nigerian descent features on the Forbes list as the 10th highest earner in sports over the last 12 months.

Giannis Antetokounmpo originally named Adetokunbo is the only person of African heritage to make it on this exclusive list which features the biggest household names in sports.

The 27-year old Milwaukee Bucks big man is also the youngest name in the top 10 and the only one less than 30 years old to make the list.

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‘The Greek Freak’ earned $80.9 million in total between May 2021 and May 2022 a total which is only topped by nine other sports stars.

Giannis earned $39.9 million of his total on the court from the Milwaukee Bucks where he is the franchise player, currently on a five-year $228 million contract.

He also earned $41 million off the court in endorsements, sponsorship deals, appearance fees and memorabilia and licensing income for the 12 months.

The rest of the list

Lionel Messi, LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Roger Federer, Canelo Alvarez and Tom Brady are the only sports stars on the planet who made more money than Giannis in the last 12 months.

HIGHEST-EARNING SPORTS MEN

1: Lionel Messi - $130m

2: LeBron James - $121m

3: Cristiano Ronaldo - $115m

4: Neymar - $95m 

5: Stephen Curry - $92.8m

6: Kevin Durant - $92m

7: Roger Federer - $90.7m

8: Canelo Alvarez - $90m

9: Tom Brady - $83.9m

10: Giannis Antetokounmpo - $80.9m