CONOR MCGREGOR has made more money this year than any other sports star in the world, according to Forbes magazine.
The Irishman is ranked number one on Forbes' Top 10 Athletes Rich List for the very first time, beating off competition from the likes of Lionel Messi, LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo.
According to the magazine, McGregor earned $180 million (€149 million) this year, much of which he owes to the multi-million euro sale of his Irish whiskey company, Proper No. Twelve, last month.
It's understood that the UFC star made just over €20 million of that total inside the ring, as McGregor continues to leverage his unmatched popularity in mixed martial arts to build a lucrative career outside the Octagon.
In doing so, McGregor becomes only the third athlete, after Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, to earn more than $70 million (€58 million) off the field in a single year while still actively competing.
Elsewhere on the list, in second place was Barcelona and Argentina footballer Lionel Messi, who earned a whopping $130 million (€108 million), followed by Juventus and Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who earned $120 million (€99 million).
Here's the list in full:
- Conor McGregor - UFC - $180 million
- Lionel Messi - Football - $130 million
- Cristiano Ronaldo - Football - $120 million
- Dak Prescott - NFL - $107.5 million
- LeBron James - NBA - $96.5 million
- Neymar - Football - $95 million
- Roger Federer - Tennis - $90 million
- Lewis Hamilton - Formula 1 - $82 million
- Tom Brady - NFL - $76 million
- Kevin Durant - NBA - $75 million
"Conor McGregor's appearance at UFC 257 in January wasn't the triumphant return he had hoped for - Dustin Poirier knocked him out in McGregor's first UFC fight since January 2020 - but he collected an estimated $22 million for his time," the Forbes entry read.
"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."
McGregor made the Top 10 list once before, coming fourth in 2017 thanks in no small part to his mega-money boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, who topped the list that year.
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