Despite a global pandemic, there were a few athletes who raked in more than $100 million dollars in earnings over the past year, and Conor McGregor was atop of that list. According to Forbes’ new report, Conor McGregor was the highest paid athlete of 2020, earning $180 million dollars, most of which comes from his sale of his majority stake in whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve. That sale helped him become just the third active athlete, after Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, to earn more than $70 million in one year from outside activities.
Following Conor, the top 5 highest paid earners included Leonel Messi ($130 million), Cristiano Ronaldo ($120 million), Dak Prescott ($107.5 million), and LeBron James ($96.5 million). See below.
1. Conor McGregor $180 mil.
2. Lionel Messi $130 mil.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo $120 mil.
4. Dak Prescott $107.5 mil.
5. LeBron James $96.5 mil.
6. Neymar $95 mil.
7. Roger Federer $90 mil.
8. Lewis Hamilton $82 mil.
9. Tom Brady $76 mil.
10. Kevin Durant $75 mil.
Funny enough back in 2016, Conor joked with the then highest-paid athlete, Cristiano Ronaldo, telling the soccer superstar that he was coming for the #1 spot. Guess it took a few years but he did it. Check out that fruition (below).