Key Factors
- Anthony Joshua dropped off Forbes’ 2025 prime 50 international sports activities earners after a pointy decline in fights and a heavy loss to Daniel Dubois.
- High 50 athletes earned a report $4.23 billion in 2025, with $1 billion from endorsements and off-field offers, elevating the entry bar to $53.6 million.
- Regardless of earnings drop, Joshua’s web price rose to $308 million, boosted by investments like backing System One’s Alpine Racing Workforce.
Anthony Joshua, the British-Nigerian boxing star who ranks as one of many world’s highest-paid boxers, has dropped off Forbes’ 2025 list of the top 50 earners in international sports activities.
Simply final 12 months, he ranked sixteenth, bringing in $83 million before taxes, largely from a robust run within the ring and a wholesome endorsement lineup. However this 12 months tells a special story, edged out by a pointy decline in ring exercise and a bruising loss that has implications past the ropes.
Joshua drops after $83 million 12 months
In 2024, Joshua pulled in $75 million from 4 victories and one other $8 million from endorsements with main manufacturers corresponding to Beneath Armour, Beats by Dre, and Lucozade.
His return to kind had appeared promising. However his bout in opposition to Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title modified that narrative. Joshua was stopped within the fifth spherical, having been knocked down 4 occasions in what many see as one of the vital punishing defeats of his profession.
Although he nonetheless earned a assured purse of €7 million ($9.3 million), the loss got here at a steep price. In the meantime, Dubois walked away with near €29 million ($38.5 million), thanks largely to pay-per-view income and rising international curiosity in heavyweight boxing.
Athlete pay hits $4.23 billion
The competitors to make the Forbes checklist has additionally intensified. This 12 months, the earnings threshold jumped to $53.6 million, up from $45.2 million in 2024, an indication of simply how a lot the enterprise of sports activities has grown.
A surge in media rights offers, worldwide sponsorships, and an increasing NBA wage cap helped push the mixed earnings of the highest 50 athletes to a report $4.23 billion. Of that, over $1 billion got here from off-field ventures, endorsements, enterprise offers, and look charges, underscoring the rising significance of an athlete’s model.
Anthony Joshua’s web price rises
Nonetheless, Joshua stays one of many wealthiest athletes in the UK. In line with the 2025 Sunday Times Rich List, his web price now stands at €232 million ($308.1 million), a €24 million enhance from the earlier 12 months.
That places him forward of England soccer captain Harry Kane and boxing rival Tyson Fury. His revenue has lengthy stretched past boxing: in 2023, he joined an funding group backing System One’s Alpine Racing Workforce, including one other high-profile enterprise to his rising enterprise pursuits.
He’s additionally been open about his long-term ambitions. In a 2024 interview with GQ, he stated, “Being a millionaire is nice, however you need to set your sights greater. The brand new faculty of thought is that I must be a billionaire.” He’s made no secret of desirous to surpass Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s reported profession earnings of $700 million.
Efficiency impacts athlete revenue
But, Joshua’s absence from Forbes’ newest rating is a reminder of how shortly fortunes can shift in sports activities. In contrast to athletes in group sports activities, who usually have multi-year contracts that assure revenue no matter efficiency, boxers face a way more unpredictable actuality. One loss can reshape every part, from marketability to negotiating energy. With fewer fights on his calendar and smaller purses in play, Joshua is now navigating a extra unsure monetary panorama.
As he considers his subsequent steps, each out and in of the ring, Joshua nonetheless instructions consideration. He stays a robust image for a lot of, particularly Black British and African followers, who admire his achievements and resilience. But when he’s to reclaim his spot among the many world’s prime earners, a reset could also be so as. Meaning not simply successful within the ring once more but additionally rethinking how his sporting efforts help the broader model he’s constructing.
