Forbes’ Top 100 Highest Paid Athletes for 2016 has been released, and unlike last year, which had a total of zero MMA fighters featured, Conor McGregor managed to make this list.
Topping the list are football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo ($88 M) and Lionel Messi ($81.4), and two-time NBA champ LeBron James ($77.2 M). The UFC featherweight champion is currently ranked at #85.
Forbes estimates McGregor’s earnings to be at $22 million, where he took home $18 million for his salary from three bouts, and $4 million in endorsements with “Reebok, Fanatics, Monster Energy, BSN, Bud Light, Rolls Royce and Electronic Arts”.
McGregor’s PPV cut bumped up his payday, with his last three bouts against Diaz, Aldo, and Mendes getting 1.5 M, 1.2 M and 850 K buys respectively.
Three other combat sports stars also made the list, with Floyd Mayweather ranked at 16 ($44 M), Manny Pacquiao at 63 ($24 M), and Canelo Alvarez at 92 ($21.5 M).
Mayweather and Pacquiao each had one retirement bout which bombed at the pay-per-view, with neither event drawing over 500,000 buys. Alvarez had two bouts in that stretch, and drew a total of 1.5 M PPV buys.
The boxing stars still managed to take home significantly more than McGregor on each bout, despite McGregor having considerably larger pay-per-view events than all three combined.
That all stems from the differences in business models in MMA and boxing. For an in-depth look at the UFC’s finances, check out everything we know about Zuffa’s revenue, debt, and earnings.
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