---
title: "Lewis Hamilton Named World’s 10th Highest-Paid Athlete by Forbes"
description: "The F1 driver was ranked the 10th best-paid athlete on Earth by Forbes"
date: "2017-06-07"
modified: "2017-06-07"
authors:
  - name: "Will Sabel Courtney"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/will-sabel-courtney"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/11263/how-much-does-lewis-hamilton-make"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "F1"
  - "News"
  - "People"
  - "Racing"
tags:
  - "athletes"
  - "Formula One"
  - "Lewis Hamilton"
  - "pay"
---

# Lewis Hamilton Named World’s 10th Highest-Paid Athlete by Forbes

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/06/lewis-hamilton-boss.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

It may occasionally seem these days like [Lewis Hamilton is known as much for his big mouth](<https://www.thedrive.com/start-finish/11163/indycar-drivers-are-tired-of-lewis-hamilton-bashing-the-series>) as for his skills behind the wheel of a Formula One car—but it's the latter that lets him rake in the dollars. According to [*Forbes*'s just-released 2017 list of the world's highest-paid athletes](<https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2017/06/07/ronaldo-lebron-top-the-worlds-highest-paid-athletes-of-2017/#6d259ca34a1c>), Hamilton ranks 10th among Earth's in terms of pay this year. In other words, [Lewis Hamilton earned $46 million in the last 12 months](<https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2017/06/07/ronaldo-lebron-top-the-worlds-highest-paid-athletes-of-2017/#6d259ca34a1c>).

According to the *Forbes* analysis, the vast majority of Hamilton's income—$38 million worth—came from his salary and winnings, with a further $8 million coming in from sponsorships and endorsements.

[Sebastian Vettel](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/9545/sebastian-vettel-and-ferrari-have-mercedes-worried-niki-lauda-says>) came in second amongst the world's race car drivers at #14 on the global athlete list, according to the *Forbes* analysis, racking up $38.5 million (of which only $500,000 came from sponsorships, because apparently nobody likes looking at Seb's babyface); third-place-among-drivers [Fernando Alonso](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/10567/sitting-down-with-fernando-alonso-gentleman-savior-of-indycar>) reportedly brought in $36 million in the last year, placing him #20 on the overall list. (The differences between the *Forbes* analysis and [*The Drive*'s own accounting of Formula 1 driver](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/7590/fernando-alonso-earns-37000000-more-than-max-verstappen>) pay likely stems from the fact that *Forbes* apparently calculates their rankings over a previous 12-month period, while our figures are for the 2017 F1 season.)

From there, the list remains benefit of drivers allllll the way down to #93, where [America's own Jimmie Johnson](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/10248/watch-jimmie-johnson-surprise-a-kid-with-donuts-in-a-chevy-corvette-z06>) joins the gang with an income of $21.8 million.

That said, even the biggest names in motorsports earn chump change compared to some of the other athletes out there. Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed the top spot on the *Forbes* list, reportedly taking in $93 million over the last year; he was followed by LeBron James at $86.2 million, Lionel Messi at $80 million, and Roger Federer at $64 million.

## Author
Will is the former managing editor of *RIDES Magazine* and the former online editor for *0-60 Magazine*. He has worked for *Time Out New York* and *Rolling Stone*, and was the creator of *College Cars Online*, the first automotive blog specifically targeted at college students and young professionals.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/willsabelcourtney>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/willscourtney>)