Conor McGregor Tops The World's highest-Paid Athletes List For The First Time

The former UFC featherweight champion has topped the world's highest earner's list this year.

The Notorious is the highest earner among the world's athletes in 2021. In reaching the first position, he has beaten some of the world's top athletes, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Lebron James.

Conor McGregor is the World's highest-earning athlete in 2021.
Photo Source: The National

Reportedly, McGregor earned an eye-popping $180 million over the last 12 months. Most of his earnings came from outside the octagon, mainly after recently selling the majority of his whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve to Proximo Spirits for $600 million, while he made around $20 million from his bout with Dustin Poirier in January.

Conor McGregor's sold the majority of his Proper No. Twelve Whiskey shares. 
Photo Source: Business-Insider

It's the first time the 32-year-old mixed martial artist made it to the top of the list. Prior to this, his highest ranking was 4th when he made $99 million from his bout with Floyd Mayweather in 2018.

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The second position is taken by Lionel Messi, who earned $130 million, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with $120 million, NFL quarterback Dak Prescott ($107.5 million), while Lebron James came at fifth ($96.5 million). The rest of the top ten list includes Neymar, Rodger Federer, Lewis Hamilton, Tom Brady, and Kevin Durant.

This year the top ten highest-paid athletes made more than $1 billion collectively from on and off the field. Most of the athletes' incomes come more from outside their sport than from it. Despite the global economy affected by the pandemic, this year's top ten made $512 million off the field, breaking the previous record of $407.5 million from 2020.

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