Rating the season so far at the half way point

[Inflictor]

It would have to be Jordan Mailata in the top 3 for sure. Oscar Piastri would be up there too.

If Ben Simmons wasn’t such a sook/injured so much he would easily be the highest paid.

Simmons easily is.

Day is surprising.

https://www.gq.com.au/gq-sports/high...aa56f8680c6466

[MKCS]

Crazy how much money some athletes make, imagine being 28 years old and being on year 5 of your 222 million dollar contract where you could probably realistically play another 5 years. NRL players in comparison to international sports make very little, Top League 1 footballers in the English Football pyramid make approximately 750k AUD a year whilst top players in the level about that can make 6-8 million AUD a year.

[roosterproud]

Crazy how much money some athletes make, imagine being 28 years old and being on year 5 of your 222 million dollar contract where you could probably realistically play another 5 years. NRL players in comparison to international sports make very little, Top League 1 footballers in the English Football pyramid make approximately 750k AUD a year whilst top players in the level about that can make 6-8 million AUD a year.

Theres a population difference between the uk and Aus by nearly 3 times. Then add in the european population for the sokka fans and thats why they get what they get. Remembering sokka is the world sport

[King Salvo]

Who is the current highest paid Aussie sports person King?

According to the list in the link below the top 3 are

1. Ben Simmons - Basketball
2.. Jordan Mailata - NFL
3. Josh Green - Basketball

https://www.gq.com.au/gq-sports/high...aa56f8680c6466


The worlds top 10 Highest paid Male Athletes in 2025 - includes on field and of field payments - USD Equivalent currency -

1. Cristiano Ronaldo - Football - 275M
2. Stephen Curry - NBL- Basketball - 156M
3. Tyson Fury - Boxing - 146M
4. Dak Prescott - NFL - 137M
5. Lionel Messi - Football - 135M
6. Lebron James - NBL-Basketball - 133M
7. Juan Soto - MLB - Baseball - 114M
8. Karim Benzema - Football - 104M
9. Shohei Ohtani - MLB - Baseball - 102M
10. Kevin Durant -NBL- Basketball - 101M


https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettkn...athletes-2025/

[nayfo]

Simmons easily is.

Day is surprising.

https://www.gq.com.au/gq-sports/high...aa56f8680c6466

He won’t be for long, he is now a free agent so he’ll be able to pick his next team but no team will be offering him anywhere near that money.

[MKCS]

Theres a population difference between the uk and Aus by nearly 3 times. Then add in the european population for the sokka fans and thats why they get what they get. Remembering sokka is the world sport

Oh yeah completely understand that, strong domestically and then they have those massive international TV deals coming in as well. Just seems unlucky that even if you become the greatest NRL player of all time your salary ceiling is 1.3 - 1.4 mil whilst if you become the greatest soccer player of all time you can sign 350 million dollar contracts like Ronaldo did.

[King Salvo]

In the old days there wasn't the raft of sporting options/opportunities that are now available to earn decent coin and a living from any of these sports.

Even US Women's College Softball players can earn 1 million plus - Pitcher Nijaree Canady transferred from Stanford to Texas Tech for this 2025 season- 1 year /season contract $1,050,024 USD - 1 million to Nijaree- 50k for living expenses and $24 for her number which is 24 of course.

NIL's ( Name , Image and Likeness) are a big deal in US College Sports now - gives the athletes the legal right to make money from sponsorships, endorsements, social media, and other promotional activities.

NRL players don't have restrictions on what they can earn off-field via approved third party agreements but of course not all players have these - a select few in each team.

The RLPA signed a partnership with One Team relating to NIL's etc in December 2024 - maybe see something relating to NIL's in the next NRL Collective bargaining agreement and broadcast deal

OneTeam International is the global arm of OneTeam Partners, a joint venture among some of North America’s most prominent player associations, including the NFL Players Association, MLB Players Association, Women’s National Basketball Players Association, MLS Players Association, and U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association.

“While North American sports have been revolutionising athlete deals for NIL for many years, the sports in our region have remained relatively stagnant. Our agreement with OneTeam will now turbocharge the commercial viability of our elite rugby league players and tap into the full potential of their marketability.”

As part of the agreement, OneTeam International will act as the RLPA’s exclusive commercial agent, managing marketing, sales, and licensing opportunities for its members. Additionally,
OneTeam International will provide expert guidance on commercial aspects of collective bargaining agreements and negotiations. In alignment with OneTeam’s mission, the partnership aims to protect and enhance athletes’ name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights while fostering opportunities in sponsorships, partnerships, data rights, content, and ventures.

https://www.rlpa.com.au/news/rlpa-an...-rugby-league/

[Mickie Lane]

According to the list in the link below the top 3 are

1. Ben Simmons - Basketball
2.. Jordan Mailata - NFL
3. Josh Green - Basketball

https://www.gq.com.au/gq-sports/high...aa56f8680c6466


The worlds top 10 Highest paid Male Athletes in 2025 - includes on field and of field payments - USD Equivalent currency -

1. Cristiano Ronaldo - Football - 275M
2. Stephen Curry - NBL- Basketball - 156M
3. Tyson Fury - Boxing - 146M
4. Dak Prescott - NFL - 137M
5. Lionel Messi - Football - 135M
6. Lebron James - NBL-Basketball - 133M
7. Juan Soto - MLB - Baseball - 114M
8. Karim Benzema - Football - 104M
9. Shohei Ohtani - MLB - Baseball - 102M
10. Kevin Durant -NBL- Basketball - 101M


https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettkn...athletes-2025/

Thank you
What about the golfer Cameron Smith what kind of coin would he be on?

[Mickie Lane]

It would have to be Jordan Mailata in the top 3 for sure. Oscar Piastri would be up there too.

If Ben Simmons wasn’t such a sook/injured so much he would easily be the highest paid.

Oscar came to mind (Im loving watching him) but then I heard he's only on between 5 & 10 million which is insane coin but not the top end of the scale.
Ive heard of Jordon Mailata (Grind iron) & Simmons (basket ball) but Im unaware of their contract money.
Golfer Cameron Smith came to mind so did Alex de Minaur.