Simone Biles — the most decorated gymnast in history, a global icon, and a relentless advocate for mental health and gender equality — just got a $28.5 million reminder of how the world still sees female athletes. To sum up her listing on the Forbes’ list of highest-paid female athletes, lets say– so close, yet so far!
Simone Biles — the most decorated gymnast in history, a global icon, and a relentless advocate for mental health and gender equality — just got a $28.5 million reminder of how the world still sees female athletes. To sum up her listing on the Forbes’ list of highest-paid female athletes, lets say– so close, yet so far!
To answer the question why– the cutoff for 2025’s top 50 athletes is set at $53.6 million, which is a 19% jump from the $45.2 million required to make the list last year. And Simone Biles‘ earnings, $11M, which she made till December 2024, are still way too less to match this bar. Now this will be irrespective of her medals, her sponsorships, or her net worth. Yes, as of 2025, sources deem her net worth to be around an approximate $25 M. Even with that, she’s nowhere near the bar.
This ain’t it. Simone Biles has a number of endorsement deals with brands like Visa, Uber Eats, K18, Tide, and sponsors like Athleta and Nike. Still, it isn’t enough to match the male athletes, who earn $100-$275 million annually. Therefore, not just Simone Biles, but no other athletes like Coco Gauff, Caitlin Clarke, etc, have featured on that list yet. This time, it’s not even gymnastics that held her back, because even the top tennis and basketball women stars have missed the cut. Thus, women’s sports continue to be largely overlooked.
Simone Biles has always advocated for women’s sports
When compared with the all-time athletics GOATS, Simone Biles has always maintained, “I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps, I’m the first Simone Biles.” She has always taken a stand for the right, just like when she advocated the importance of mental health in gymnastics. She continues to push the boundaries of what women can do in her sport.
In fact, she’s a big supporter of the entire “women in sport” fight. After the Paris Olympics, Simone Biles proudly reacted to the fact that, “It was super exciting that, finally, 50% of the athletes at the Games were females.” For the first time IOC had ensured full female and male parity. However, looks like in terms of proportionate pay and opportunities, the female athletes still have a long way to go. What do you think? Let us know below!
