UFC star and whiskey connoisseur Conor McGregor has topped the famous Forbes highest-paid athletes list for 2021.
McGregor, 33, has enjoyed more success outside of the octagon than inside in recent times, with his whiskey company Proper No. Twelve being the main component of his $180m earnings. Proper No. Twelve earned the Irishman $158m between May 2020 and May 2021.
“McGregor’s triple distilled Irish whiskey has been bringing him more luck, especially after his recent defeat and unfortunate leg-break in the closing seconds of the opening round at UFC 264 against Dustin Poirier,” said a spokesperson for https://www.maxfreebets.co.uk – a one-stop resource for all of the best betting offers and free bets from the UK’s best betting sites, online bookmakers and betting apps.
“Though he could be out of the octagon for a year, the former UFC champion has already been sharing images of himself in the gym to his 41.5 million Instagram followers, he’s an unstoppable force,” they added.
In the sport’s rich list, he is followed by the two biggest names in football in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively. Messi beat Ronaldo in on-field earnings by $97m to $70m, but the Portuguese’s off-field revenue was $50m to the Argentine’s $33m.
Two American athletes round off the top five in Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. Prescott has one of the most coveted jobs in the NFL as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback and his total earnings for the year reached an enormous $107.5m, making him the highest earner in the NFL. As for James, he earned $96.5m including $65m off-field earnings, making him the third most valuable commercial athlete on the list. The 36-year-old is also the oldest of the athletes featured in the top five.
The rest of the top 10 is rounded off by Brazilian footballer Neymar, Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, American quarterback Tom Brady and American basketball player Kevin Durant.
Overall, earnings were up from top to bottom with the cut-off to make the top 50 rising from $28.5 million last year to $34 million, making it the highest threshold ever to earn a place in the top 50.
Forbes’ Sport Rich List 2021: The top 10
1. Conor McGregor – Mixed Martial Arts – $180m
2. Lionel Messi – Soccer – $130m
3. Cristiano Ronaldo – Soccer – $120m
4. Dak Prescott – Football – $107.5m
5. LeBron James – Basketball – $96.5m
6. Neymar – Soccer- $95m
7. Roger Federer – Tennis – $90m
8. Lewis Hamilton – Motor Racing – $82m
9. Tom Brady – American Football – $76m
10. Kevin Durant – Basketball – $75m
