With $22 Million As Earnings, Virat Kohli Was The Only Indian in Forbes 100 Highest Paid Athletes in 2017

Former India captain Virat Kohli is a brand in himself and, undoubtedly, he is the highest-earning Indian athlete at the moment. The majority of his earning comes from brand endorsements. With the kind of following he has across social media platforms, he is certainly the first choice for the top brands in the country.

Readers must note that Kohli was the only Indian in Forbes’ list of Top 100 highest-paid athletes in the world in 2017. Kohli has always been an admirer of football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and he was at the top position in that list. It is well known that the salary of cricketers is much lesser as compared to the top players of other sports such as Football, Tennis, Basketball, etc.

However, Indian cricketers get a lot of money as compared to most of the other countries around the world. Kohli earns more from his Royal Challengers Bangalore contract in the Indian Premier League as compared to his annual contract with the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India).

Virat Kohli Was The Only Indian in Forbes 100 Highest Paid Athletes in 2017

In 2017, Kohli was 89th ranked on the Forbes list with a total earnings of $22 million. The interesting part was the split between his cricketing income and endorsement fees. While he earned just $3 million from the sport, the remaining $19 million had come from the corporate world. Out of $3 million, $2.3 million was the worth of his then IPL contract.

Forbes had called Kohli the “Indian cricket phenom” back then. They also mentioned the right-handed batter’s sponsorship record. He was not the only Indian but also the only cricketer in the Top 100 highest paid athletes that year.

“The vast majority of his income, however, comes from one of the sports world’s most impressive sponsorships portfolios,” Forbes said.

Ronaldo topped the charts with an income of $93 million (more than thrice of Kohli’s income). Tennis superstar Serena Williams was the only female athlete on the list and she was at the 51st spot with $27 million. Some of the world biggest sport stars such as Roger Federer, Tiger Wood, etc, had also made the cut.

How Many Times Has Virat Kohli Made It To Forbes Highest Paid Athletes List?

After gaining the 89th rank in 2017, he jumped to 83rd position in 2018 with earnings of $24 million. In 2019, he moved to the 100th position despite earning $25 million. He was the only Indian on the list in all these three years.

Interestingly, Kohli jumped to the 66th position in 2020 with $26 million. With a total earning of $33.9 million, he was ranked 61st in 2022. It is clear that Kohli is ruling the cricketing charts on the financial turf, too.