Social Media Posts Make Top Level Athletes Obscene Amounts Of Money

Whether we like it or not social media is a powerful tool, and top-level athletes have figured out how to make some serious cash with it.

BonusFinder, a sports data firm, put together a list of the athletes who make the most money per social media post. The amount some make for a single picture on Instagram will make you wish you spent more time kicking soccer balls around in your youth.

Of the top ten, soccer players take up seven spots, with Manchester United forward Christiano Ronaldo taking top honors. The Portuguese soccer star makes $2 million for a single social media post.

Think about that. A single picture on his Instagram account— which has 476 million followers, more people than there are in the United States — nets Ronaldo a cool $2 million.

The man can hold up a bottle of shampoo and makes enough money to buy a private island. Unreal.

The rest of the list has some surprises

The list was polluted with soccer players; some active, some not. David Beckham has been retired for almost two decades, yet he still hauls in nearly a quarter of a million dollars for a single post.

Of the three non-soccer players populating the list, Lebron James and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson each make a pretty penny from their posts. As for the last non-soccer player. you can take a thousand guesses and you'll never get it right.

The top-earning athletes on social media. (Credit: BonusFinder)

If you guessed Royal Challengers Bangalore batter Virat Kohli, you're lying. There's no way you guessed him.

The name Virat Kohli may not ring a bell, but he's making bank on social media. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Yet while he's far from a household name in the States, the former captain of the Indian National Cricket squad still makes just shy of $700,000 for a post.

Oddly, some big names aren't on the list, namely UFC fighter Connor McGregor. He topped Forbes' list of the highest paid athletes in 2021 with $180 million. $158 million of that coming to him outside the cage.

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