The year 2020 made us witness some really heart-wrenching scenarios. Many countries saw an unbearable economic crash that left people wailing due to poverty and pay cuts. While the world was enduring so much of agony, there were some sportspersons who continued to gross big money, even though the sports events were happening behind the closed gates. According to Forbes, the ten highest-paid athletes in the world took home gross earnings of $1.05 billion during May 1, 2020 and May 1, 2021. There were many alterations to the top-10 list that were largely expected since the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced prize money and playing time across sports. But for the top 10 for 2020-21, there seemed to have no impact of economical dip on their earnings. Here is the list of the world’s top 10 highest paid sportsperson in 2020-2021, released by Forbes:
10. Kevin Durant ($74 million): The Basketball superstar, Kevin Durant who also helms short films managed to earn $30 million on the field and $44 million of it.
9. Tom Bardy ($75 million): The 43-year-old American football icon, who won his 7th super bowl this year, became the face of many brands this year and earned $43 M on-field and $31 M.
8. Lewis Hamilton ($82 million): The British racing driver’s 11 race wins last season and endorsement of several brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Puma saw him make $70 M on the field and $12 M off it.
7. Roger Federer ($ 90 million): The tennis ace who suffered bench rest in 2020 due to knee injury, made $90 M with sponsorship and campaign but made just 0.03 M on the field.
6. Neymar Jr ($95 million): The Paris striker who endorses Puma among few other brands garnered $76 Million on the field and $19 Million with sponsorship.
5. James Lebron ($96.5 million): The 36-year-old, who is unstoppable on the basketball court, will be making his Hollywood debut in July with the release of Space Jam: A New Legacy. The brand face of PepsiCo, James earned $31.5 M on the field and $65 M off it.
4. Dek Prescott ($98 million): The Dallas cowboy Dek Prescott is the fourth highest-paid sportsperson in the world as the quarterback signed a four-year, $160 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys in March, including a $66 million signing bonus.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo ($120 million): The football legend, who is the face of Nike earned $50 Million with brand endorsement and garnered $70 million by playing football.
2. Lionel Messi ($130 million): One of the biggest names in the world of sports, the details of Messi’s four-year contract with Barcelona were leaked last year, which claimed that the 33-year-old makes $672 M from the team. Messi earned $97 M on the field last year and $33 M off it. He endorses Adidas among other brands.
1. Conor McGregor ($180 million): The Irish mixed martial art champion Conor McGregor is the highest-paid athlete of the year 2020-2021, who earned about $22 million from his win over Donald Cerrone, and $158 million of the 32-year-old’s earnings last year came from brand endorsements.
