Egypt captain Mohamed Salah and Senegal forward Sadio Mane are the only African footballers in the top 50 of the list released last Thursday.
Despite reportedly earning above $200,000 per week at Premier League side Arsenal, Thomas Partey did not make the list.
The list was compiled based on monies earned by the various athletes both on and off-the-pitch converted to US dollars under the current exchange rate.
Salah earned $53 million in the last 12 months, $35 million of which came from on-the-field earnings and the remaining $18 million from off-the-field earnings.
Mane, who moved to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr last year, is slightly behind Salah with earnings of $52 million in the year under review, according to Forbes.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes in the world for the fourth time in his career.
The Portugal international earned $260 million over the last 12 months. Ronaldo made $200 million from his lucrative contract with Al Nassr and another $60 million in off-field earnings.
The second highest-earning athlete in the world is golfer Jon Rahm with earnings of $218 million, while Lionel Messi is third with $135 million.
Lebron James ($128.2 million), and Giannis Antetokounmpo ($111 million) complete the top five highest-paid athletes in 2024.
Kylian Mbappe and Neymar are fifth and sixth with earnings of $110 million and $108 million, respectively while Karim Benzema is eighth with $106 million.
Despite being the highest-earning Africans on Forbes’ list, Salah and Mane are both further down the global list as the 38th and 40th highest-paid players in the world, respectively.