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Oscar Piastrihas been identified as Australia’s highest-paid athlete following a remarkable $57 million earnings in the previous year – but in an unexpected outcome, noneAFL or NRLStar managed to enter the top 50.

The extensive list of the country’s highest-earning athletes includes many unexpected entries, with less famous names from golf and basketball surpassing stars such as Nick Daicos andNathan Cleary.

Piastri – who narrowly missed out on winning the F1 drivers’ title last season – was joined in the top 10 by a tennis playerAlex de Minaur ($13million), NFL Super Bowlwinner Jordan Mailata ($23 million) and golfer Cameron Smith ($44 million).

The top 50 ranking byNine Newspapersfeatures basketball player Taran Armstrong at position 50 with earnings of no less than $2 million, primarily due to his contract with the Dubai-based team in the EuroLeague.

Following is Karl Vilips, one of several golfers included on the list even though they are not widely recognized in Australia.

He is accompanied by Stephanie Kyriacou ($2.5 million) and Grace Kim ($3 million).

Other lesser-known athletes earning significant income are basketball players Alex Condon ($3 million) and Johnny Furphy ($3 million), along with jockey Zac Purton ($3 million).

The Matildas’ star player, Sam Kerr, is ranked 37th with a top earnings of $3.5 million, narrowly missing out on a position ahead of her teammate Mary Fowler, who stands at 36th.

Several of the nation’s most famous cricketers appear in the top 25, including Josh Hazlewood ($5 million), Mitchell Starc, and Travis Head ($5.5 million), who trail Test captain Pat Cummins, ranked 15th with $9 million.

Some Australians outside of motocross enthusiasts may not be familiar with Jett Lawrence, who is ranked ninth following earnings of at least $12 million after securing his third consecutive SuperMotocross World Championship, earning him the title of the Max Verstappen of off-road biking.

NBA players are prominently featured, with Josh Giddey from the Chicago Bulls ranked third with $38 million and Dyson Daniels from the Atlanta Hawks in fourth place with $37 million.

The inclusion of Major League Baseball players such as Liam Hendriks ($10.5 million) and Travis Bazzana ($6.5 million) may also astonish many Australians.

Although football stars such as Daicos and Cleary receive significantly more media attention than most other top names on the list, their absence is not particularly unexpected when considering the financial incentives within the AFL and NRL.

The AFL’s team salary cap for this season stands at $18.3 million.

NRL clubs are permitted to allocate up to $11.55 million.

When you spread that across the big teams the clubs must maintain, it leaves no space for high-paying contracts for top players.

St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera is among the highest-paid players in the AFL, with a contract reportedly valued at nearly $2 million annually, whereas Christian Petracca earns approximately $1.4 million.

In the NRL, athletes such as Dylan Brown, Tom Trbojevic, and Nathan Cleary earn approximately $1.3 million.

Although they can all increase their figures through endorsement agreements, such as Cleary’s deal with Adidas, the limited fan base in Australia, when compared to larger markets like Europe and the United States, limits their income potential, which means Mary Fowler’s reported $10 million agreement with Adidas is much larger than her partner’s.

Piastri’s substantial income from McLaren is further increased through his sponsorship agreements with Google, Monster Energy, and the Grill’d fast-food restaurant.

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