Highest-Paid Athletes in the World: Comparing Salary/Winnings with Endorsements

Highest-Paid Athletes in the World: Comparing Salary/Winnings with Endorsements
graph by Lev Akabas for Sportico; slow reveal by Jenna Laib

Type of Graph: Scatterplot

Purpose

This slow reveal is designed to support analysis and discussion of both the data and the design choices. The questions in the slide deck invite learners to examine trends, relationships, and possible interpretations. This graph invites students to consider what individual points mean on a scatterplot, comparing and contrasting the two variables, the meaning of the line x=y, all while estimating and comparing values.

About This Graph

This visualization is not provided for reuse or redistribution. Readers and educators are encouraged to view the original visualization in its published context.

Original Visualization:
Chart by Lev Akabas, published in the following article:
Badenhausen, Kurt. “Highest-Paid Athletes in the World: Ronaldo Leads 12 Stars at $100M+” Sportico: February 12, 2025. Accessed at: https://www.sportico.com/personalities/athletes/2025/worlds-highest-paid-athletes-ronaldo-messi-lebron-curry-1234827784/

Data Sources:
Sportico. “100 Highest-Paid Athletes in the World.” Sportico: February 12, 2025. Accessed at: https://www.sportico.com/feature/highest-paid-athletes-in-the-world-1234765608/

In The Classroom

There are many different mathematical connections that can be made to this data and data visualization.

Potential Math Content: scatterplot, estimating values, meaning of a point, comparing values, meaning of a point, scale along the axes, x=y,

Potential Content Connections: athletes, salary, wealth