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The money for female sports stars is increasing on and off the field, but even for Coco Gauff, Simone Biles and Caitlin Clark, it’s not enough to rank among the elite earners.

It might have been hard to imagine Coco Gauff one-upping her successes of 2023, a year in which she earned $6.7 million in prize money and an estimated $15 million from endorsements and claimed her first Grand Slam title in an emotional victory over Aryna Sabalenka at the U.S. Open.

Yet that’s exactly what the 21-year-old American tennis phenom did in 2024, besting her previous prize money high by collecting $9.4 million and boosting her earnings off the court to $25 million with the additions of hair-care brand Carol’s Daughter, Fanatics and Naked Juice to a sponsor group that now contains 11 partners.

Gauff’s estimated total of $34.4 million last year represents one of the best financial stretches for a female athlete ever measured by Forbes, which has tracked athlete earnings since 1990. (Only Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams have posted higher totals in a calendar year, peaking at $57.3 million and $45.9 million, respectively, in 2021.)

Read the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2025/05/15/why-no-women-are-among-the-worlds-50-highest-paid-athletes-in-2025/

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Transcript
00:00Today on Forbes, the money for female sports stars is increasing on and off the field,
00:05but even for Coco Gauff, Simone Biles, and Caitlin Clark, it's not enough to rank among
00:10the elite earners of the world's 50 highest paid athletes. Coco Gauff's estimated total of $34.4
00:17million last year represents one of the best financial stretches for a female athlete ever
00:23measured by Forbes, which has tracked athlete earnings since 1990. In 2024, the 21-year-old
00:30American tennis phenom bested her previous prize money high by collecting $9.4 million and boosting
00:37her earnings off the court to $25 million with 11 sponsors. Yet, Gauff does not rank among the
00:44world's 50 highest paid athletes. In fact, she doesn't even come close. Her 2024 total would
00:50leave her $19.2 million short of the threshold for inclusion in the ranking. And it's only getting
00:56harder to qualify for the highest earners list. The cutoff for 2025's top 50 is $53.6 million,
01:03a 19% increase over the $45.2 million required to make the list last year. For the second consecutive
01:10year, no woman lands among the world's 50 highest paid athletes. Serena Williams was the last to do
01:16it in 2023. Only three other female athletes have qualified for the top 50 since 2012. Tennis stars
01:23Lina and Maria Sharapova, both of whom are retired, and Naomi Osaka. No woman landed on the list from
01:302017 to 2019. The absence largely comes down to salaries and prize money, which are tied to league
01:37revenue, with media rights fees playing arguably the most crucial role. Still, elite women's sports are
01:43showing promising financial growth each year. Deloitte estimates that women's sports will
01:48collectively reach $2.35 billion in global revenue this year, a notable increase over 2024's $1.88
01:55billion in 2023's $981 million. Commercial revenue, which includes team and league sponsorships,
02:03is expected to account for 54% of that figure, demonstrating that brands are showing more
02:08interest in engaging with women's sports. Marketers are also engaging with athletes directly,
02:14seeing a much clearer advantage with female athlete endorsements than in years past.
02:18Freestyle skier Eileen Gu earned an estimated $22 million off the slopes in 2024, while gymnast
02:25Simone Biles collected $11 million, and WNBA star Kaitlyn Clark pulled an $8 million off the court.
02:32Meanwhile, New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, whose Nike signature shoe has grown extremely popular
02:38among NBA players, earned an estimated $6 million from her endorsements in business endeavors,
02:43a mark that equalled or surpassed the off-field earnings of 18 members of the world's 50 highest
02:50paid athletes list for 2025. As far as total earnings, the top-earning female athletes are
02:56maintaining their momentum. The median of the top 20 women increased to $10.7 million in 2024
03:02from $8.5 million a year earlier, and with 17 members of that group under age 30, their best years could
03:10still be ahead of them.

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