Top 7 Most Expensive Sports in the World

Professional sports are a billion-dollar business. There is a constant flow of cash inside every professional sport, which includes salaries for the athletes and coaches, getting new equipment, planning out the matches, logistics, sponsorship investments, and much more. Annual costs for some sports can be as high as budgets of medium-sized countries. It goes without saying that some sports require more than others, and based on these metrics, we’ve compiled a list of the most expensive sports in the world!

1. Tennis

Huge monetary rewards are the reason why tennis is on this list, and tennis players are at the top of the rankings of the richest athletes in the world. Serena Williams was the highest-paid athlete in 2018. That year she earned over 18 million dollars. And Maria Sharapova, who took the 5th place in that list, made $10.5 million. But the record payment belongs to the Swiss athlete Roger Federer, the winner of Grand Slam tournaments, who earned $60 million a year from advertising alone.

2. Boxing

Spectacular, dangerous, and, therefore, very lucrative. Take, for example, the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight of 2015: a total of $ 400 million was earned in this match alone, and the ticket prices went as high as $ 150,000! The boxers earned $150 mil and $100 mil, respectively, making Floyd Mayweather the highest-paid boxer in history.

3. Golf

Golf is a very exquisite sport, especially among rich and famous, who are willing to make huge deposits to become members of some prestigious golf club. For example, Donald Trump used to have his own golf club. To get in, you needed to pay a $ 350,000 fee. In 2009, Tiger Woods became the first billionaire athlete in history, and most of the money came from advertising. Golfing equipment isn’t cheap either, which is why tourist golf tournaments are popular. You get a chance to win a lot of money, but those clubs make a profit of $ 2,000,000,000 per year.