Eat shit Michael Jordan you broke bitch. All time list (mixed) [edit] The following list shows the highest-paid athletes of all time, as of 2017. Gaius Appuleius Diocles a Roman Chariot racer is said to have earned 35,863,120 sesterces, by some estimation of billion in 2011 dollars. This means he would be the best paid athlete of all time. Rank Nam