Lewis Hamilton or Lionel Messi: who has the biggest contract?

It could be quite reasonable to state that Lewis Hamilton is to Formula 1 what Lionel Messi means to soccer. The British legend has turned 36 years old and after a long wait, he has signed an extension to race for one more season for Mercedes-AMG team, with which he won six of his seven titles in the series (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020).

To put you in a context, Hamilton’s situation in Formula 1 was pretty similar to the one that is currently going on with Messi and his future in Barcelona. The British driver had his contract with Mercedes-AMG expired last December 31. In mid of some rumors about a possible retirement from racing, only now he confirmed he will stay. And he will stay with the same team.

It was said in different racing publications that Hamilton wanted a salary of €70 million ($84.5 million) for a year, adding a brand new AMG-One, the new hypercar the German manufacturer has released recently. In the end, he has allegedly signed for $47 million, but now the team has given him two big blanks in his suit and helmet to place his own sponsorship. This comes from a decision at the very top of the group to not increase any salaries.

Does this beat Messi? Well, speaking about his earnings is always a struggle, but his contract was allegedly reporting him almost $50.8 million in the last two seasons, 2019-2020 and the undergoing 2020-2021. Then, they both raise lots of millions in terms of sponsorship and endorsements. Those are the advantages of being true legends in sport.