For much of 2020, the world’s leading athletes were sidelined, working for reduced pay, playing to empty seats or isolated in competitive bubbles designed to thwart a pandemic that has sapped billions of dollars from professional sports.
Still, for the best of the best, things couldn’t be better—at least in terms of their financial heft.
The ten highest-paid athletes in the world took home pretax gross earnings of $1.05 billion during the past 12 months, 28% more than last year’s top earners. The combined haul falls just a few million short of the $1.06 billion record set in 2018, the 12-month window in which boxer Floyd Mayweather earned $285 million, almost all of it from his 2017 pay-per-view fight with Conor McGregor.
Conor McGregor’s celebration after becoming the world’s richest athlete by Forbes.
UFC star Conor McGregor topped the ranking prepared by Forbes magazine for 2021 ahead of the two best soccer players in the world (Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo), among other sports stars. After learning that he was at the top, the Irishman decided to celebrate in style with his family at his luxurious vacation home in Dubai.
“Thank you Forbes for recognizing my role as an entrepreneur, it was a dream to top this list with so many successful athletes! Onwards and upwards we go,” wrote ‘The Notorious’ in an Instagram message and posted several photos including his daughter next to a cake with the icing alluding to his achievement recognized by Forbes.
The martial artist also posted the phrase “Uimhir a Haon,” which means number one in Irish.
Recall that Conor McGregor generated revenues of $180 million in 2020, although most of this was from the sale of his whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve.
Although Conor McGregor is not currently one of the most dominant fighters in the UFC, he is one of the most important fighters in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA). His breakthrough in the octagon was a commercial revolution and last year he became the world’s richest athlete, ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Forbes List was made up as follows:
1) Conor McGregor ($180 million)
2) Lionel Messi (130 million dollars)
3) Cristiano Ronaldo ($120 million)
4) Dak Prescott ($107.5 million)
5) LeBron James ($96.5 million)
6) Neymar (95 million)
7) Roger Federer (90 million)
8) Lewis Hamilton (82 million)
9) Tom Brady (76 million)
10) Kevin Durant (75 million)
Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit Gamestingr for great videos, news, and gameplay!
