Conor McGregor, Naomi Osaka and more! Here's Forbes’ list of world’s highest-paid athletes in 2021
Conor McGregor is the highest paid athlete in 2021 with total earning of $180 million. Tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of dollars per year are at play when it comes to athletes at the very top of their game. Though the pandemic put a significant dent in the business of sports, and teams and their owners earned significantly less, individual athletes actually thrived. A look at the Forbes annual rankings of the world’s highest-paid athletes for 2021.
Tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of dollars per year are at play when it comes to athletes at the very top of their game. Though the pandemic put a significant dent in the business of sports, and teams and their owners earned significantly less, individual athletes actually thrived. A look at the Forbes annual rankings of the world’s highest-paid athletes for 2021. (Image: News18 Creative)
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Conor McGregor is the highest paid athlete in 2021 with total earning of $180 million. (Image: News18 Creative)
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Take a look at the on-field and off-field earnings of the top 10 overall highest paid athletes in 2021. (Image: News18 Creative)
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Ten years of the top ten. (Image: News18 Creative)
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams are the only two women athletes figured in the top 50. (Image: News18 Creative)
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In 2016, Conor McGregor boasted to Cristiano Ronaldo that he’d overtake him one day as sports’ highest-paid star. This year, the UFC fighter did just that. The real moneymaker was his sale of whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve, buttressing an endorsement portfolio that includes DraftKings, the video game Dystopia: Contest of Heroes and the lifestyle brand Roots of Fight. (Image: News18 Creative)
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Naomi Osaka is the highest-paid female athlete ever, and the only on to crack the top 15, demolished her mark from last year. She was the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam event, and the first Asian player to hold the top rankings in singles. Her sponsors, like Workday, Louis Vuitton and Airbnb, are standing by her after her withdrawal from the French Open – the move may actually make her more marketable. (Image: News18 Creative)
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Only four athletes – Conor McGregor, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Dak Prescott – have surpassed $100 million in total earnings this year. (Image: News18 Creative)
