The highest earning athletes in Canada
The pay of athletes, and female athletes in particular, has been the subject of controversy for some time in Canada. It is no secret that women in sports earn less than their male counterparts – an issue that was recently brought up by the Canadian women’s soccer team. Four Olympic champions, including captain Christine Sinclaire, spoke before a committee of MPs last month, revealing details of their labour dispute with Canada Soccer, the sport’s governing body.
In 2022, Forbes put Canada’s Winter Olympians near the bottom of a ranking of the best-paid gold medal winners at the Beijing Olympics. It turns out that Turkey, Hong Kong, Latvia, Bulgaria, and Kosovo, among others, pay their athletes much more generously for winning a gold medal than the Canadian Olympic Committee. Amid these issues and various reports that paint Canada’s sports in a bad light, the team at SportingPedia decided to examine athletes’ earnings and see who was paid the most for their efforts and accomplishments in 2022.
We considered only payments received as salaries or prizes in sports competitions rather than income from sponsorships and other commercial deals. We then analyzed the athletes’ performance over the past season in order to find out who received the most generous payment per game or point scored.
Athletes Who Earned the Most in 2022
The list features athletes who recently participated and performed well in large-scale, international competitions and who have disclosed their recent salaries .
Andrew Wiggins, Earnings in 2022: $31,579,390
Golden State Warriors small forward Andrew Wiggins tops the ranking of the highest-paid Canadian athletes with a salary of $31,579,390 for 2022. He played in 73 games, scoring a total of 1,256 points, which means that for every point, he received $25,143. Born in Toronto, Wiggins lived in Vaughan until 2011, when he transferred to a high school in West Virginia. In the U.S., he started his professional basketball career when he was selected first overall in the 2014 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. His total career earnings have been estimated at $170,841,254.
Jamal Murray, Earnings in 2021: $27,285,000
Jamal Murray comes second in the ranking, with over $27 million in earnings for the 2020-2021 season. The Denver Nuggets shooting guard missed the entire 2021-2022 campaign due to a torn ACL in his left knee, an injury he sustained during a game against the Golden State Warriors. In October 2022, Murray returned in a game against the Utah Jazz, playing for the first time in eighteen months. Over the 2020-2021 season, he scored 378 field goals for 1,018 points in 48 games, receiving an average of $72,180 per goal or $26,803 per point.
Connor McDavid, Earnings in 2022: $15,000,000
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid ranks third with a salary of $15 million for the 2021-2022 season. At the age of 26, he is considered one of the greatest hockey players in the world and has received multiple awards and accolades during his eight years in the NHL. McDavid is also known as a top scorer – this is his 6th season with at least 100 points, and the season is not over yet, which means he could break a record or two. Over the previous season, he played in 80 games, scoring 44 goals and 123 points, making nearly $341,000 per goal.
Carey Price, Earnings in 2022: $13,000,0000
Despite his recent health issues and retirement rumors, Montreal Canadiens goalkeeper Carey Price enters the list in fourth place with a salary of $13 million. Price, who is believed to be one of the greatest players in the Canadiens’ history, appeared in only 5 games during the 2021-2022 season – four of which were losses, while only one was a win. He racked up 130 saves, while the save percentage was .878. Due to a knee injury and other health issues, he did not return for the 2022-2023 season and is believed to be retiring from hockey altogether.
Alphonso Davies, Earnings in 2022: $11,465,007
Born to Liberian parents in a refugee camp in Ghana back in 2000, Alphonso Davies has one of the most inspiring life stories in sports. His family moved to Canada when he was 5, and at the age of 15, he joined the Whitecaps FC Residency program in Vancouver. By January 2019, he was part of one of Europe’s most successful soccer teams, Bayern Munich. For the 2021-2022 season, Davies received an annual salary of €11,250,000, or roughly $11,465,0009. The defender played in 22 games, recording 41 crosses and 23 interceptions, and ran a distance of 216.9 km.
Mitchel Marner, Earnings in 2022: $10,358,000
Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitchel Marner ranks fifth on this list, earning more than $10.3 million during the 2021-2022 season. This is not an exception for the hockey player – the 25-year-old already has career earnings of around $51 million. During the last season, he scored 35 goals and 97 points in 72 games, which means he earned an average of $296,000 per every goal he scored.
Other Notable Earners
Other athletes who were paid astronomical figures for their performance last year are Formula 1 racer Lance Stroll, NBA free agent Tristan Thompson, and NHL veteran Sidney Crosby. Stroll, who competes for the Aston Martin team, took part in 22 races in 2022, ending the season with only 18 points. Still, he earned $10 million or an average of $454,000 per race.
Tristan Thompson signed an $18.98 million contract with the Boston Celtics in November of 2020, but was traded several times – he eventually signed a Rest-of-Season contract with the Chicago Bulls, and has since been a free agent. During the 2021-2022 season, Thompson played for four different teams in 114 games, scoring 282 field goals and 688 points. He earned nearly $10 million or $14,500 per point scored.
During the 2021-2022 season, Sidney Crosby received a base salary of $9 million as part of his extension contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He scored 31 goals and 84 points overall in 69 games, so on average, the Penguins paid him $390,300 per goal. This puts him 11th in the ranking, while three other NHL players are ranked higher, namely Los Angeles Kings defenceman Drew Doughty, as well as Mitchel Marner and John Tavares of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
During the last season, Doughty earned $11 million, whereas the Leafs right wing Marner received $10.36 million. His teammate Tavares comes in 10th position with salaries totaling $9.35 million. The highest-paid female athlete on this list is golfer Brooke Henderson who earned a little over $2.4 million in 2022. In a total of 22 events, she played 76 rounds, which means she received an average of $31,753 per round.
Methodology
For this ranking, the team at SportingPedia looked at publicly disclosed figures for the athletes’ salaries, bonuses, and other earnings as part of their contracts with their teams. We used the performance statistics from the websites of the respective leagues and teams – the NBA, NFL, NHL, the Bundesliga, WTA, and others. All earnings are shown in US dollars since the majority of individuals play for American teams or receive prizes from competitions in U.S. dollars.