Oscar Piastri has emerged as the highest-earning figure in Australian sports, amassing an astonishing $57 million over the past year. Surprisingly, not a single AFL or NRL player made it into the top 50 earners, a revelation that might catch many sports enthusiasts off guard.

The list, which ranks the nation’s wealthiest athletes, is full of unexpected names. Golfers and basketball players, who might not enjoy the same level of fame as stars like Nick Daicos or Nathan Cleary, have surpassed them in earnings.

Piastri, who nearly clinched the F1 drivers’ championship last year, shares the top 10 spotlight with tennis ace Alex de Minaur, who earned $13 million, NFL Super Bowl victor Jordan Mailata with $23 million, and golf sensation Cameron Smith, who pocketed $44 million.

Karl Vilips stands out among several golfers making the list, despite not being widely recognized in Australia. Joining him are Stephanie Kyriacou, with earnings of $2.5 million, and Grace Kim, who brought in $3 million.

Other lesser-known athletes also made their mark, including basketball players Alex Condon and Johnny Furphy, each earning $3 million, and jockey Zac Purton, who matched their earnings with $3 million as well.

F1 star Oscar Piastri is Australia’s top-earning sport star after raking in $57million last year, a new list has revealed

Golfer Cam Smith (pictured) is second on $44million, thanks largely to his stunning deal with the breakaway LIV tour

Minjee Lee (pictured) is the top-earning Aussie sport star on $7.5million

Other under-the-radar athletes who are raking it in include basketballers Alex Condon ($3million) and Johnny Furphy ($3million), and jockey Zac Purton ($3million).

Matildas star Sam Kerr ranked 37th with a maximum earn of $3.5million, getting edged out by her teammate Mary Fowler, who is 36th.

Some of the country’s best-known cricketers are in the top 25 of the list, with Josh Hazlewood ($5million), Mitchell Starc and Travis Head ($5.5million) lagging behind Test skipper Pat Cummins, who is 15th on $9million.

Few Aussies outside of motocross fanatics would know much about Jett Lawrence, who is ninth after making at least $12million after winning his third straight SuperMotocross World Championship, making him the Max Verstappen of dirt biking.

NBA stars are well represented, with Josh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls in third place on $38million and Dyson Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks in fourth on $37million.

The presence of Major League Baseball stars like Liam Hendriks ($10.5million) and Travis Bazzana ($6.5million) will also come as a surprise to many Aussies.

While footy superstars like Daicos and Cleary get far more exposure than just about any of the other big names on the list, their absence isn’t all that surprising once you do a deeper dive into the money on offer in the AFL and NRL.

This season the AFL’s salary cap per team is $18.3million.

Mary Fowler makes the cut, coming in 36th – but her boyfriend Nathan Cleary misses out, with no NRL stars earning enough to snag a spot

Footy superstar Nick Daicos (pictured with partner Arlette Amor) also missed out, with no AFL stars represented

NRL teams are allowed to spend a maximum of $11.55million.

When you distribute that over the large squads the clubs have to carry, it doesn’t leave any room for megabucks salaries for even the best players.

St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera is one of the AFL’s biggest earners on a deal rumoured to be worth close to $2million a year, while Christian Petracca is on an estimated $1.4million.

In the NRL, players like Dylan Brown, Tom Trbojevic and Nathan Cleary are on around $1.3million.

While they can all bump those numbers up with endorsement deals like Cleary’s contract with Adidas, the relatively shallow fan pool in Australia compared to big markets like Europe and the USA restricts their earning power, meaning Mary Fowler’s rumoured $10million deal with Adidas dwarfs her boyfriend’s.

Piastri’s huge salary from McLaren is also bumped up by his endorsement deals with Google, Monster Energy and the Grill’d fast-food chain.