Despite the pandemic, the salaries of the top ten athletes continue to climb; McGregor tops the Forbes list, with Messi close behind

When the 2021 Forbes list of the highest-paid athletes was released recently, it didn’t take long to notice a significant shift. For the first time in the list’s ten years, a Mixed Martial Artist – Conor McGregor – was ranked first, earning USD 50 million more than second-placed Lionel Messi (who earned USD 130 million).

Many changes to the top-10 ranking were predicted, given that the COVID-19 pandemic has lowered prize money and playing time across sports. However, for the top ten for 2021 (measured from May 1, 2020, to May 1, 2021), there appeared to be no negative impact of the pandemic on the enormous incomes they made.

Although playing time was reduced, off-field sponsorships and business activities remained unaffected. Despite the pandemic, they are significant events. Footballers all around the world were compelled to take salary cuts as a result of the pandemic, while Major League Baseball earnings were also impacted by the season being trimmed from 162 to 60 games. However, there was little of a negative influence on the top ten athletes.

The top ten earned USD 1.05 billion, a 28% increase over the top ten’s earnings of USD 819.2 million the previous year. It was also barely short of the USD 1.06 billion mark established in 2018 – the year McGregor was ranked fourth on the list.

This was also the first time that four sportsmen — McGregor, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott – each made more than USD 100 million. However, that was not the only record shattered this year. The top ten earned USD 512 million in off-field activity, which was more than USD 100 million higher than the previous record.

As a result of the higher threshold established this term, the 10th name on the list – NBA star Kevin Durant – earned USD 75 million, much exceeding the previous peak established in 2019 – USD 65.4 million (Durant again).

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