[imagesource: Hypebeast / Ethan Miller/Daniele Badolato/Alex Caparros/Getty Images]

Forbes has released the 2021 highest-paid athletes list, and despite the fact that so much of the action over the past 12 months has taken place behind closed doors, the rich keep on getting richer.

If you take the 10 highest earners, with figures including all prize money, salaries, and bonuses earned between May 1, 2020, and May 1, 2021, their combined earnings are a staggering $1,05 billion (that’s pretax), which is 28% more than last year’s top earners.

It does fall just short of 2018’s record $1,06 billion, due largely to 2017’s pay-per-view fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.

The former took home $285 million that year, but it’s the latter who tops the 2021 list, with the Irish brawler earning a cool $180 million over the last 12 months.

More from Forbes:

…most of that comes from his recent sale of his majority stake in whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve to Proximo Spirits for $150 million. It’s the 32-year-old’s first time at No. 1 and his second appearance in the top ten (he landed at No. 4 with $99 million in 2018 after the fight against Mayweather).

Adding in his endorsements, McGregor made $158 million outside of his fighting career over the last 12 months, becoming only the third athlete, after Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, to earn more than $70 million off the field in a single year while still actively competing.

I guess we should give some credit to Conor for predicting this a few days back:

Number 1 of course. https://t.co/uj0mpKviL5

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 9, 2021

‘Just’ $22 million of the $180 million came from ‘on the field’ earnings:

Image: Forbes

In second and third are more familiar faces, with Lionel Messi banking $130 million, and Cristiano Ronaldo $120 million.

That should soften the blow of neither winning their respective league titles, or Champions League titles, this year. Barcelona can still mathematically win La Liga, but it’s very much a long shot.

Fourth on the list is a name that will be unfamiliar to many – NFL quarterback Dak Prescott.

His $66 million signing bonus from the Dallas Cowboys is a tidy little sum:

Image: Forbes

LeBron James ($96,5 million) and Neymar ($95 million) fell just short of joining the $100 million club, with Roger Federer banking $90 million.

The 2021 list did break some records:

…the $75 million cutoff to qualify for the top ten, beating the previous high-water mark of $65.4 million from 2019.

Image: Forbes

This year’s top ten also made a combined $512 million off the field, crushing the previous record of $407.5 million from 2020.

All in all, not a bad year for many of the world’s most recognisable, and bankable, athletes.

To finish, here’s the full top 10:

• Conor McGregor, UFC: $180 million
• Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Barcelona: $130 million
• Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus: $120 million
• Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys: $107.5 million
• LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers: $96.5 million
• Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain: $95 million
• Roger Federer, tennis: $90 million
• Lewis Hamilton, F1: $82 million
• Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $76 million
• Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets: $75 million

[source:forbes]