World's highest paid athletes 2020/21

MMA fighter Conor McGregor was the highest paid athlete worldwide in 2021, racking up on and off field earnings of around 180 million U.S. dollars. His performance earnings came from his appearance at UFC 257 in January 2021, in which he was knocked out by Dustin Poirier in the second round. Despite this disappointing showing, McGregor was still able to bolster his income through various endorsements and sponsorship deals, including with Reebok and Beats by Dre. His main source of off-field income came through the sale of his whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve to Proximo Spirits.

Messi vs. Ronaldo continues

Despite the ongoing debate among fans and in the media about who is the better soccer player between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, it is the latter that leads the way in terms of earnings. As well as winning an incredible amount of domestic trophies, Lionel Messi is winning off the pitch, too, thanks to a lifetime sponsorship deal with Adidas, as well as numerous endorsements with the likes of Pepsi, Lay's, and Budweiser. Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, who boasts five Champions League titles to his name, had off-field earnings on 50 million U.S. dollars in 2021 thanks to a lifetime deal with Nike, and endorsements with DAZN, Electronic Arts, and Tag Heuer. However, one title that Ronaldo can claim over Messi is that of most followed athlete on Instagram. The Portuguese star has over 197 million followers on the social media site, while Lionel Messi has a "mere" 140 million.

Where are all the women?

One notable absence in the list of highest paid athletes is any female athletes. In fact, the highest paid female athletes took home a fraction of the earnings of their male counterparts. Tennis star Naomi Osaka topped the list of sportswomen, having taken home 3.4 million U.S. dollars in prize money and a further 34 million U.S. dollars in endorsements. Osaka consistently ranks in the top 10 of the WTA's ranking of female tennis players worldwide and her endorsements include companies such as Nike, Louis Vuitton, and Mastercard.