Despite losing his only fight in the past year or so, Conor McGregor takes out top spot in Forbes’ list.

Being the best in the world in your chosen sport is obviously very lucrative no matter what your speciality is (provided the sport isn’t competitive quidditch), but being great at your sport whilst also being able to capitalise on your hype is even more lucrative. Just ask Conor McGregor who recently topped Forbes’ highest-earning athletes list despite netting a meagre $US22 million from fighting in 2021.

The gold at the end of the foul-mouthed Irishman’s rainbow came from a string of successful investments and sponsorship deals including the sale of the majority stake in his whiskey brand Proper No.12 and contracts with DraftKings and the video game Dystopia. His $US180 million earnings oughta be enough to cushion his bruised ego from his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, after the US fighter dealt with him in a matter of minutes in January.

Football gods Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continue their tit-for-tat duelling, with Messi narrowly surpassing Ronaldo’s $US120 million with $US130 million, after the Argentinian lost out to CR7 in 2020. Try not to think about how you’re going to pay your rent this week as you check out the list below…