Despite Only One 2018 Fight, Conor McGregor Makes Forbes’ Highest-Paid Athletes List
Despite only fighting once in 2018, former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor still made Forbes’ highest-paid athletes list.
McGregor came in at 21 overall in the 2019 list. Forbes estimates the Irishman banked $47 million over the past year. That’s $32 million in fight purses and $15 million in endorsement deals. “”The Notorious” only fought once in 2018, however, that being a fourth-round submission defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October. The pay-per-view (PPV) did approximately 2.4 million buys.
“Mystic Mac’s” disclosed fight purse was $3 million, but he’s expected to have taken home close to $30 million in total with PPV bonuses. McGregor also landed himself a new sponsorship deal with Reebok that will pay him $5 million a year. The 30-year-old has also launched his own whiskey line, Proper 12 Irish Whiskey, which has been doing phenomenal business for the Irishman.
McGregor has made Forbes’ top-paid athletes list for the fourth year in a row. He became the first mixed martial artist in history to do so back in 2016. He was even featured in the top five out of 100 for his massive payday as a result of his boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Several boxers of note were listed on this year’s list as well. They include Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at number four with $94 million, heavyweight boxing star Anthony Joshua with $55 million at number 13, and WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder who made $30.5 million at number 55.
