Monetising through social media is now a very common practice for everyone, regardless of their profession. The challenge is to create the right content to make it profitable and build a following or community around it. Of course, the most popular platform for generating substantial income in recent years has been OnlyFans. While the platform is widely known for its association with adult content, it also hosts creators from other fields such as chefs, personal trainers, musicians and more. However, the earnings from non-explicit content often pale in comparison to those generated by adult-themed accounts.
Sophie Rain vs. NBA Stars: The Shocking Salary Comparison
Take Sophie Rain, for example. At just 20 years old, the OnlyFans model generated $43 million between November 2023 and November 2024, including a staggering $4 million from a single fan. To put this in perspective, Stephen A. Smith shared a video highlighting that Rain’s earnings surpassed the salaries of numerous NBA players such as Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Kyrie Irving and almost all the players in the league. In fact, her income would rank her 15th among the NBA top earners this season, just behind LeBron James, who is 14th with $48 million.
The comparison isn’t just between Rain’s earnings and the salaries of NBA stars, who train daily and play games so demanding that few athletes could endure them. According to 2023 data, OnlyFans content creators collectively earned $6.6 billion, surpassing the combined salaries of the entire NBA, which amounts to $4.9 billion! If you’d told anyone this a decade ago, there’s no doubt they wouldn’t have believed it, much less Stephen A. Smith talking about it on ESPN.
OnlyFans Might Go From $6.6B to $10B For Next Year
It’s amazing how much intrigue surrounds this, but the responsibility doesn’t fall on the content creators – they’re simply taking advantage of an opportunity that will change their lives. Rain, for example, could retire and live happily ever after with only what she made this year. In fact, similar to NBA salaries, Rain’s earnings and those of OnlyFans as a whole will likely reach $10 billion next year. In fact, Rain shared on her “X” account that she’s aiming for $100 million. Will she reach it? I think she will.
Stephen A. only compares the earnings to the NBA because it’s the league with the best average salary, mainly because it has fewer players on its payroll compared to leagues like the NFL, which has rosters of 53 people, or MLB and various soccer leagues. Personally, I’m still amazed at the sheer amount of money you can make on OnlyFans by sharing just a few photos and videos each month. In my opinion, the effort required is minimal – without undermining these content creators – and the earnings can be astronomical.
