Australia’s highest-earning athletes across sports in 2025-26
Consensus Summary
The articles from TheAge detail Australia’s highest-earning athletes across various sports in 2025-26, focusing on cricketers, AFL players, golfers, UFC fighters, and other high-profile athletes. Cricket Australia’s top earners, including Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Travis Head, earned up to $3 million annually, combining retainers, match payments, and IPL salaries. AFL players like Jack Steele, Noah Anderson, and Max King earned between $1.2 million and $1.6 million, with commercial deals adding to their income. Golfers such as Cam Davis and Karl Vilips earned significant prizemoney, while UFC fighters like Alexander Volkanovski and Jack Della Maddalena earned millions from fight purses and sponsorships. The articles also highlight standout athletes in basketball, tennis, and soccer, with earnings ranging from $1.8 million to over $10 million for top commercial performers like Mary Fowler. The lists emphasize the diverse revenue streams, including sponsorships, image rights, and international contracts, that contribute to athletes' total earnings.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Pat Cummins rejected an offer to exclusively play T20 cricket in 2025.
- Mitchell Starc and Alyssa Healy are ambassadors for sun-protection apparel brand SParms.
- Travis Head featured in the 'Hyderabaddie' campaign in India.
- Jack Steele’s St Kilda contract includes a deferred club champion bonus.
- Jacob Weitering signed a six-year extension with Sydney in 2024, locking him in until 2031.
- Clayton Oliver was traded from Melbourne to GWS in 2025, with Melbourne paying a portion of his remaining salary.
- Max Gawn co-owns East End Wine Bar in Melbourne.
- Jeremy Cameron is an ambassador for Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation’s 'Love the Game' campaign.
- Max King’s 2026 salary is significantly reduced to help St Kilda manage its salary cap.
- Patrick Cripps is one of the AFL’s top commercial performers, above even Marcus Bontempelli.
- Taran Armstrong’s $1.8 million contract with Melbourne United is an after-tax figure, closer to $2.5 million before tax.
- Karl Vilips became Tiger Woods’ apparel brand Sun Day Red’s global ambassador.
- Alexander Volkanovski co-founded apparel brand Engage.
- Stephanie Kyriacou has commercial partnerships with Titleist, Walker Golf, SParms, and Rapsodo.
- Daria Kasatkina has a long-term apparel and footwear deal with Adidas and uses Artengo racquets.
- Alex Carey has a new sponsorship deal with Apple in 2026.
- Grace Kim is a global ambassador for Husqvarna.
- Alex Condon earned between $2.9 million and $3.6 million from his NIL deal at Florida Gators.
- Alexei Popyrin signed a multi-year apparel deal with Adidas in January 2025.
- Johnny Furphy’s contract for 2026-27 is fully guaranteed, but the fourth season is a team option.
- Sam Kerr’s 2026 salary with Chelsea is reported to be around $890,000.
- Mary Fowler signed a record-breaking five-year, $10 million deal with Adidas in 2026.
- Cam Davis has an apparel deal with Nike and plays with a full bag of Titleist gear.
- Jack Della Maddalena reportedly earned $832,500 for his UFC fight against Belal Muhammad and $2.85 million for his fight against Islam Makhachev (estimated figures).
- Zac Purton’s earnings do not include his 2025 win in The Everest race.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- TheAge mentions Pat Cummins earned up to $3 million from Cricket Australia in 2025, but does not confirm if this includes the same breakdown of retainer, captaincy stipend, and match payments as Travis Head and Mitchell Starc.
- TheAge states Zac Purton’s earnings are based on the 2024-25 season, but also mentions his 2025 win in The Everest, which is not included in the earnings figure.
- TheAge reports Jack Steele’s St Kilda contract runs until 2027, but does not specify if his 2025 salary was front-loaded or back-loaded for salary cap reasons.
- TheAge mentions Max King’s 2026 salary is significantly reduced, but does not provide exact figures for comparison with 2025 earnings.
- TheAge states that Patrick Cripps is one of the AFL’s top commercial performers, but does not provide specific earnings or comparisons with other players like Marcus Bontempelli.
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