Lewis Hamilton has fallen from his position as the most marketable athlete in the world, dropping to 22nd place in the 2026 rankings released by SportsPro.
This marks a significant decline for the seven-time world champion, who topped the list in 2025 with a marketability score of 96.03 out of 100. In the current assessment, Hamilton holds a score of 66.63, placing him alongside footballers Neymar and Vinicius Junior.
The rankings are determined by combining brand equity, momentum, and commercial trajectory, utilizing “several hundred data points” and over 3,000 brand partnership records from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. According to the data, Hamilton’s Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, has surpassed him to become the most marketable Formula 1 driver. Leclerc rose from 25th in 2025 to ninth this year, achieving a marketability score of 71.12.
Analysts said that age and longevity contribute to the commercial trajectory metric, where Hamilton, at 41, is tied with Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James as the oldest athletes on the list. Leclerc benefits from a higher commercial trajectory score than Hamilton, a metric reflecting the room for an athlete’s future commercial growth. Chris Collins, president of NorthStar, which powers the rankings, stated:
🚨 | 𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗙𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗦 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗡𝗢. 𝟭 𝗧𝗢 𝟮𝟮 — 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗜𝗧'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗗! Lewis Hamilton has dropped from first in SportsPro's 2025 Most Marketable Athletes rankings to 22nd in 2026, with Charles Leclerc now the highest-ranked F1 driver.… pic.twitter.com/NRWwqLX13k
Leclerc has “one of the strongest established brands of any athlete in the world.”
“He ranks second of all 247 athletes we assessed on brand equity, built on how he presents himself, a compelling personal story and premium partners who keep choosing to work with him.”
The shift in rankings highlights broader trends within motorsport, which accounts for 5.3% of the top 150 athletes. While Leclerc leads the F1 contingent, other drivers saw varied results: Max Verstappen climbed to 48th, while Oscar Piastri moved to 56th, ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris at 78th. Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka currently holds the top spot on the overall list.
👀 LECLERC ZİRVEDE, HAMILTON SERBEST DÜŞÜŞTE! ▫️ SportsPro’nun açıkladığı 2026 Sezonu "En Pazarlanabilir Sporcular" listesinde motor sporları dünyasında büyük bir değişim yaşandı. ▫️ Geçtiğimiz yıl 96.03 puanla listenin zirvesinde yer alan Lewis Hamilton, bu yıl 66.63 puanla… pic.twitter.com/hMzcJByG4s
