Conor McGregor is now the fourth highest paid athlete in the world.
That’s according to Forbes, who released their annual list on Tuesday, with McGregor coming in at No. 4 out of the top 100 after reportedly earning $99 million last year.
The bulk of McGregor’s earnings came from his super fight against Floyd Mayweather, which was his lone bout in all of 2017. McGregor reportedly earned $85 million for the fight with another $14 million made in endorsement deals.
Here’s what Forbes had to say about McGregor’s earnings:
“McGregor banked an estimated $85 million for the fight, more than five times his previous top paycheck. The fight had 4.3 million PPV buys and generated more than $550 million in revenue. The Irishman signed a slew of deals over the past 12 months with the buzz around the Mayweather fight. His current partners are Burger King, Beats by Dre, Monster Energy, David August, BSN, Anheuser-Busch, HiSmile and Betsafe. He also has a residency deal with the Wynn Las Vegas for all of his afterparties, and his digital properties, Conor McGregor FAST Program, MacMoji App, MacTalk App and the Mac Life, also generate cash.”
While McGregor was No. 4 on the list, his opponent ended up at No. 1 with Mayweather reportedly earning $285 million last year.
McGregor did rocket past several high profile stars including LeBron James, Steph Curry and Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan, who was the highest paid football player on the list.
McGregor was the only mixed martial artist represented on the highest paid athletes list.
Several prominent boxers did earn spots on the list including Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez at No. 15 with $44.5 million earned, heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua at No. 25 with $39 million and Gennady Golovkin at No. 75 with $25 million.
It’s unclear where McGregor might fall next year considering he’s still no closer to booking his return to the UFC, where he hasn’t fought since 2016.
Do you think Conor McGregor will ever reach No. 1 status on the highest paid athletes list? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
