SEVEN LIV Golf players now in Top 50 of highest-paid athletes in sport!

A total of 12 golfers including seven from LIV Golf have moved into Forbes' Top 50 highest-paid athletes in sport list for the very first time.

Forbes' latest list proves just how much difference the Saudi-bankrolled circuit has made to financial figures in the sport, as well as the PGA Tour's heavily-inflated purses through its 'Designated Events' in 2023. 

Never previously in the Top 50, LIV Golf's Dustin Johnson leads the professional golfers at sixth in the 2023 list with a whopping $107m. 

That number includes $102m from golf earnings and $5m from endorsements away from the course. 

Johnson yesterday gave a hilarious response as to how he hurt his back earlier in the season. 

Phil Mickelson, who has very much been the ringleader of the LIV Golf League, follows in at seventh position with $106m.

Last year, Mickelson was down in 31st spot. 

Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy ($80.8m) has shuffled narrowly ahead of Tiger Woods ($75.1m) into 15th position.

In terms of endorsements, McIlroy has amassed $40m and Woods $60m. 

Woods was last year in 14th place, with McIlroy back in 37th. 

Other LIV Golf players making up the Top 50 include Cameron Smith ($73m), Brooks Koepka ($72m), Bryson DeChambeau ($69m), Patrick Reed ($52m) and Sergio Garcia ($46m). 

PGA Tour stars Jon Rahm ($53m), Jordan Spieth ($47.5m) and Scottie Scheffler ($32.1m) also make the cut. 

Former Manchester United and now Saudi-based Al Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo tops the highest-paid list for 2023 with $136m ($46m / $90m).

Paris Saint German and Argentina's World Cup winning captain Lionel Messi is next up in second with $130m ($65m / $65m), with his fellow PSG winger Kylian Mbappe in third with $120m ($100m / $20m).

The NBA had the most amount of sportsmen in the Top 50 with 15. 

Check out the full list here, and the full list of 12 golfers in the Top 50 below: 

Forbes' Top 50 Highest-Paid Athletes 2023: Leading Golfers

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