Highest-Paid Athletes in the World 2021 (Sportico)
A new list of athlete earnings has been created by Sportico (like the similar list published by Forbes). 2021 was the first year this list has been published, and it was a year that the sporting world was severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, with many major events canceled or postponed.
Below is the top-10 of the highest earning sportspeople for 2021, taken from the inaugural list of 100 highest-paid athletes published in 2021. The top earner for 2021 was Conor McGregor, with earnings totaling 208 million US dollars. There were two women in the top-100, Naomi Osaka (15th) and Serena Williams (44th).
See also the Sportico top-earning lists from other years.
Top-10 Highest Earning Sports people from 2021
| Rank | Name | Sport | Nationality | Earnings* ($ million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conor McGregor | MMA | Ireland | 208 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Soccer | Argentina | 126 |
| 3 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Soccer | Portugal | 120 |
| 4 | Dak Prescott | American Football | USA | 108.4 |
| 5 | LeBron James | Basketball | USA | 101.8 |
| 6 | Neymar | Soccer | Brazil | 100 |
| 7 | Roger Federer | Tennis | Switzerland | 84 |
| 8 | Tom Brady | American Football | USA | 80.4 |
| 9 | Kevin Durant | Basketball | USA | 80.1 |
| 10 | Stephen Curry | Basketball | USA | 74.5 |
Next on the list were: Lewis Hamilton, Canelo Álvarez, Tiger Woods, Russell Westbrook, Naomi Osaka, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, David Bakhtiari, Ronnie Stanley, Patrick Mahomes.
note: The earnings totals (in US dollars) from endorsements, licensing, memorabilia and appearances over the last 12 months are estimated by Sportico.
Conor McGregorRelated Pages
- Sportico Earnings Lists
- Forbes lists of the highest paid athletes
- Sports Illustrated Top Paid Lists.
- Highest paid sportswomen
- Most popular athletes of the world
- The Year in Sport - 2021
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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