Conor McGregor is Named as the Highest Paid Athlete of 2021 by Forbes
$158m outside his fighting career and earned $22m in the ring
Forbes has named Conor McGregor as the highest paid athlete in 2021 as he earned USD 180 (About AUD 233) million last year. To achieve this feat, he beat the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Conor McGregor
As per reports, he earned $150m (AUD 193m) for selling whiskey brand Proper 12 and earned $22m (AUD 27m) in the ring. This made Conor McGregor the first Irishman who topped the elite list. The star also made ample money from endorsements like Contest of Heroes, Dystopia, and DraftKings. He also had successful campaigns with Monster Energy and Burger King.
This is the third time ever when a sports star has earned over USD 70m (AUD 90m) via endorsements when they competed in their sport as well. The first two were Roger Federer and Tiger Woods.
Since the onset of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, only three athletes have earned more than USD 100m (AUD 129.50m) in earnings as many seasons were cut short. The salaries of Major League Baseball were reduced, and even stars like Messi had their wages cut. The salaries of NBA players were also reduced.
The top spots were achieved by Lionel Messi, Dak Prescott, and Cristiano Ronaldo, along with Conor McGregor. Some other names on the list are NBA’s LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Tom Brady. It also included F1 star, Sir Lewis Hamilton.
The list that named Conor McGregor as the richest athlete was put together by calculating the earnings of an athlete throughout the year. The key sources of earning were salaries, bonuses, prize money, etc. The period was from May 2020 to May 2021.
Conor McGregor will likely use his earnings for something big. In Q&A sessions with fans, Conor McGregor has discussed some amazing possibilities like buying football teams Celtic and Manchester United. If that happens, it will be a big feat for the sports star. Also, here is the complete list of the richest athletes compiled by Forbes.
1. Conor McGregor – US$180 million
Age: 32
Sport: MMA
Nationality: Ireland
Sponsorships: Proper No. Twelve whiskeys, DraftKings, Dystopia, Roots of Fight
2. Lionel Messi – US$130 million
Age: 33
Sport: Soccer
Nationality: Argentina
Sponsorships: Adidas (Lifetime), Clothing line (Ginny Hilfiger).
3. Christiano Ronaldo – US$120 million
Age: 36
Sport: Soccer
Nationality: Portugal
Sponsorships: Nike (Lifetime), CR7 business of branded clothing, accessories, hotels and gyms.
4. Dak Prescott – US$107.5 million
Age: 27
Sport: Football
Nationality: United States
Sponsorships: Sleep number, 7/11, DirecTV, four Texas locations of Walk-On restaurant.
5. Lebron James – US$96.5 million
Age: 36
Sport: Basketball
Nationality: United States
Sponsorships: PepsiCo, Fenway Sports Group (Red Sox, Liverpool FC and Roush Fenway Racing).
6. Neymar – US$95 million
Age: 29
Sport: Soccer
Nationality: Brazil
Sponsorships: Puma, Fortnite.
7. Roger Federer – US$90 million
Age: 39
Sport: Tennis
Nationality: Switzerland
Sponsorships: On, Rolex, Credit Suisse and Uniqlo.
8. Lewis Hamilton – US$82 million
Age: 36
Sport: Formula 1
Nationality: United Kingdom
Sponsorships: Tommy Hilfiger, Monster Energy, Puma, Extreme E racing series.
9. Tom Brady – US$76 million
Age: 43
Sport: Football
Nationality: United States
Sponsorships: Christopher Cloos, Fanatics, TB12, film production company, NFT platform.
10. Kevin Durant – US$75 million
Age: 32
Sport: Basketball
Nationality: United States
Sponsorships: Thirty-Five Ventures, Two Distant Strangers (Oscar Winning), Uber investment.
In other sports news, did you know that Jake Paul left with ‘Black Eye’ as well as a ‘Busted Tooth’ after Floyd Mayweather Confrontation? Read about the details here.
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