A new study has revealed the top earners on Instagram, and it’s time to drop everything and focus on becoming an influencer. We’ll also need to score 701 professional goals, get shredded, win five Ballon d’Ors and five Champions League crowns, but we’ll worry about that later. First, let’s just dream about taking home $975K for every sponsored post we throw out there.
If it’s not clear yet, that’s the amount Cristiano Ronaldo took home from each paid post over the last year. According to findings from Buzz Bingo, the Portuguese legend posted 49 ad posts over the past year and earned an income of $47.8 million from them.
Ronaldo’s annual salary from Juventus is $34 million, so he earns $14.7 million more from Instagram. He’s obviously an influencer first and a footballer second. How is Ronaldo able to make this much? Because he has 187 million followers.
Second in the list is eternal rival — but future dinner date — Lionel Messi. Messi had 36 paid posts over the past year and earned a total of $23.3 million. Per sponsored post, he earned $648K. Messi has 134 million followers on Instagram.
While Ronaldo and Messi top the overall list, third place belongs to Kendall Jenner. I could quickly navigate to her Wikipedia profile to tell you more about her and what she does, but I’d rather not do that.
Fourth place is a name I know: 44-year-old English legend David Beckham. Although his days on the pitch with Manchester United/Real Madrid/LA Galaxy are long behind him, the businessman/model/Inter Miami owner is still perhaps the biggest boss on the planet.
Beckham had 30 ad posts, taking home $357K per post and a total Instagram income of $10.7M. He’s got 58.7 million followers.
Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place, yes I worked for Disney circa 2012 and am in the know here) is in fifth, but soccer’s domination of the top six continues with Neymar in sixth. The Brazilian only had 10 paid posts, but he earned a whopping $722K per post, which is a total of $7.2 million. Neymar has 127 million followers.
In seventh, it’s another footballer: 38-year-old LA Galaxy striker Zlatan Ibrahimović. Zlatan had 20 paid posts, and he took home $200K per post for a total income of $4 million. The big Swede has 38.8 million followers.
Kylie Jenner (another one!) follows Zlatan, then comes Ronaldinho. The 39-year-old has reportedly been in financial trouble of late, but the Barcelona legend did his best to offset that by making $2.6 million on Instagram. He has 49.1 million followers.
Finally, there’s Gareth Bale, who took home $1.09 million. The Real Madrid and Wales winger has 42.2 million followers.
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Top Soccer Instagram Earners 2019
1. Cristiano Ronaldo: $47.8 million
2. Lionel Messi: $23.3 million
3. David Beckham: $10.7 million
4. Neymar Jr: $7.2 million
5. Zlatan Ibrahimović: $4 million
6. Ronaldinho: $2.6 million
7. Gareth Bale: $1.09 million