Top 10 Cricketers With Highest Earnings In 2019

Over the years, cricket has changed a lot in terms of format, tournament, and much more. Cricket has become faster, more exciting for the young generation crowds who take a lot of interest in shorter formats. With that cricketers nowadays are earning a good amount and are among the highest-paid athletes.

Meanwhile, the game has also got more commercialised and the cricketers are not sticking to cricket for earning their bread and butter. The players are now endorsing various brands to increase their earnings. Renowned cricketers are getting deals which the earlier generation players didn’t think of.

Few tabloids like Sports show and Sportseon takes a peek into the early salaries of cricketers across the globe. We have used those statistics as a reference in this article to give our viewers an insight into how much their favourite stars earn.

Thus, we at Cricket Addictor takes a look at the top ten cricketers across the globe with the highest earning in the year 2019:

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10. STEVE SMITH ($2.4 million)

Steve Smith has been arguably the best when it comes to Test cricket. His grit, determination, and hunger to success have been impeccable. Smith made a superb return from the suspension due to the ball-tampering scandal in 2018.

The former Australia skipper is one of the richest cricketers in the country and also makes it to the list of highest-paid cricketers of 2019. Smith earns most of his money from Central Contract and IPL. He received an amount of Rs 12.5 crore from Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2019.

Smith suffered alot of losses due to the ban losing contracts with Qantas, New Balance, and Milo. However, he is up the ladder once again and recently struck a deal with Vodafone.

9. ROHIT SHARMA ($3.5 million)

The Indian opener Rohit Sharma has taken giant strides in the last five years. He is one of the most consistent batsmen in the world and when he gets going it becomes difficult to stop him. Besides, Rohit is a treat to watch when he bats with authority.

Just like the runs, Rohit’s brand value is also increasing on a daily basis. Currently, he earns $ 3.5 million which makes him the ninth highest-paid cricketer in the world. The Mumbaikar bagged a Rs 7 crore A+ category contract from the BCCI.

Besides, Mumbai Indians have retained Rohit for a sum of $2.1 million. He has also endorsed brands like Adidas, Nissan, Hublot, Ceat and Aristocrat Bags which makes him one of the richest in India.

8. YUVRAJ SINGH ($3.5 million)

Yuvraj Singh has been India’s favourite son when it came to World Cups. He has played significant roles in MS Dhoni-led Indian team lifting the title in World T20 in 2007 and ICC World Cup in 2011.

The all-rounder, who recently announced his retirement was flamboyant in nature and his love cars and stylish attire was evident. Yuvraj has lost the Midas touch in the last few years and most of his incomes now come from advertisements.

He featured for Mumbai Indians in the IPL from where he bagged Rs 2 crores. Another $3.4million comes from various brand endorsements. Yuvraj is the brand ambassador of Puma, Xbox 360, Sports365 and Ulysse Nardin.

7. MITCHELL STARC ($ 4 million)

Mitchell Starc is one of the lethal fast bowlers of the modern generation. He has been a great servant for Australia over the years and finished as the highest wicket-taker in two consecutive World Cups. Starc is equally destructive across the formats which makes him a legend of the game.

The left-arm pacer has struggled a lot due to injuries throughout his career. But that has not been able to dent the brand value he carries. According to Sportseon the annual salary of Starc is around $3.5m which includes national and IPL agreement.

Moreover, Starc also endorses brands like Audi and Royal Stag which fetches him $0.5 million. With $ 4 million earnings, the Aussie cricketer occupies the seventh spot in the list of highest-paid cricketers.

6. SHANE WATSON ($5.5 million)

One of the best all-rounder to play for Australia, Shane Watson has served his country for long. His ability to contribute at the top both with the bat and the ball makes him one of the highly-prized cricketer.

Although Watson has retired from international cricket, he is still a renowned name in franchise leagues. He was pivotal in helping Chennai Super Kings lift the IPL title in 2018. The outstanding show helped him retain his contract with Chennai even in 2019.

Watson earned $0.59 million from his IPL contract and $0.15 million from his PSL side Quetta Gladiators. He also endorses a few brands like Platinum Speakers, SG and Beon Global from where he makes around $4.5 million. Thus, he sits sixth in the list of highest-paid cricketers.

5. DAVID WARNER ($5.5 million)

David Warner is one of the most devastating opening batsmen of the current generation. But on many occasions, his onfield antics overshadow his heroics on the field. He recently came out blazing from one-year suspension due to ball-tampering scandal.

Following the suspensions, Warners incurred a lot of losses as brands like LG and ASICS terminated their contract. But the cricketer made an emphatic comeback signing a whopping Rs 12.5 crores deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2019.

Warner has also signed deals with a few brands including Spartan Sports which takes him to the list of highest-paid cricketers in 2019.

4. AB DE VILLIERS ($6.4 million)

Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers is one of the most loved cricketers of all time. He has time and again entertained the fans with his outstanding display of batting across the globe. Although he took premature international retirement, de Villiers has served the Proteas to the best of his potential.

Mr 360 Degrees, as he is popularly known as, features in many franchise-based cricket leagues, from where he earns a good amount. De Villiers earned $1.6 million from the RCB franchise and $0.15 million from the PSL draft.

Besides, he has also been the ambassador of global brands like MRF, Audi, Puma, and Supersport. As a result, de Villiers enters the list of highest-paid cricketers with an annual income of $6.4 million.

3. CHRIS GAYLE ($7.5 million)

The aggressive batsman from West Indies, Chris Gayle is one of the dynamic characters in the game. One of his countries legend, Gayle has been a pivotal part of their success in the 21st century. Despite being 39-years of age, the swashbuckling batsman is going strong.

But age and less cricket have taken a grip on his brand value which has reduced but is enough to make it to the highest-paid cricketers. He has been playing franchise cricket across the globe from where he earns a good sum.

In 2019 IPL auction he was bagged by the Punjab franchise for a 2 crore deal. The Universe Boss also played the inaugural APL where he was bought by the Balkh franchise in $1 million. The other incomes come from various brand endorsements like Spartan Sports, Agrani Homes, and betterU.

2. MS DHONI ($21.7 million)

The former India skipper MS Dhoni is one of India’s brightest cricketing stars. His achievements are unmatched as he won three ICC titles including two World Cups and a Champions Trophy. Moreover, Dhoni is one of the best finishers in the cricket game.

Despite age taking a dip in his cricketing career, Dhoni brand value has no signs of going down. Currently, he earns $0.7m from his central contract with BCCI. Dhoni has a lucrative deal of $2.2m with the Chennai Super Kings.

Moreover, he endorses more than 30 brands and some of the famous ones are Reebok, TVS, Orient, Sonata, and Boost. As a result, Dhoni occupies the second spot in the list of cricketers with highest earnings in 2019.

1. VIRAT KOHLI ($24 million)

The current India skipper Virat Kohli is arguably the greatest cricketer of this generation. His impeccable consistency with the bat across formats has taken him to a whole new level. Just like his dominance inside the cricket field, Kohli has a huge brand value off the pitch as well.

Kohli’s brand value has witnessed an upsurge with each passing year. He was the only cricketer to make it to the Forbes list of highest-paid athletes in 2019. Thus, he is the richest cricketer in the world in the current year.

The talismanic batsman has an A+ category contract with BCCI which earns more than $1 million. Besides, he also receives a hefty sum of $2.6 million from Royal Challengers Bangalore. Moreover, Kohli Kohli endorses some of the finest brands including Audi, Tissot, Puma, MRF, and Uber which earns him almost $20 million. As a result, he has a total earning of $24 million in 2019.