Conor McGregor drops out of Forbes top 10 sporting rich list

Despite being forecast to break the dollar billionaire mark later this year in a separate analysis, the Notorious has seen his inclusion on the list of the world’s biggest earing sports eclipsed in the last 12 months.

Lionel Messi has taken top spot with the PSG star beating off the likes of LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi bagged $130 million last year, in the 12 months up to May 1 2022, with almost half of that coming through endorsements.

The year before, the Argentina icon came second on the list to Conor McGregor, who hasn’t fought in the UFC since last summer when he broke his leg while facing Dustin Poirier.

His time spent recovering has dented his earnings, leaving LeBron to claim second on the list after earning $121 million, breaking his $96.5 million from the previous year.

Ronaldo, in third, earned $115 million after he secured a return to Manchester United last summer.

Brazil and PSG star Neymar, Messi's team-mate, ($95 million) and three-time NBA champion Stephen Curry ($92.8 million) of the Golden State Warriors rounded out the top five.

NBA player Kevin Durant ($92 million) was sixth while Swiss tennis great Roger Federer, who played five tournaments in 2021 before a knee operation curtailed his season, was third with total earnings of $90.7 million.

The final three spots on the list went to Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez ($90 million), seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady ($83.9 million) and reigning NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo ($80.9 million).

This time last year McGregor was celebrating in style after he was crowned the highest paid athlete in the world by Forbes Magazine.

The UFC star (32) had brought in earnings of $180 million over the previous year to beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the top spot on the Forbes list.

The achievement called for a celebration, and McGregor’s long-term partner Dee Devlin and their two children, Conor Jr and Croia, threw him a party to mark the occasion

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Dee posted photos of McGregor admiring a bunch of gold balloons with ‘#1’ and ‘Proud of you’ printed on them, as well as a cake with a photo of the MMA legend’s Forbes cover designed in icing.

She captioned her Instagram post: “Success is no accident, it’s hard work. We are so proud of you!!!”

McGregor also shared an Instagram post to celebrate his ranking on the Forbes list, showing off photos of the balloons and cake.

He wrote: “Baby we did it!! Uimhir a haon.

“Thank you Forbes for recognising my role as an entrepreneur! It was a dream to lead this list with so many successful athletes!

“Onwards and upwards we go,” the Dubliner added.

McGregor collected an estimated $22M (€18M) in January for his appearance at UFC 257 where he was knocked out of his first UFC fight in a year by Dustin Poirer.

His biggest earnings, however, came from his recent sale of his majority stake in whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve to Proximo Spirits for a whopping $150 million (€123M million).

He is 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, Forbes said.

Despite his drop off in the Forbes list McGregor was set to achieve his personal goal of becoming a billionaire by the time he is 35-years-old, a top US sports analyst claimed last week.

In 2020, the now 33-year-old fighter told ESPN he believed he would be a billionaire by the time he's 35.

However, he looks set to beat his own prediction by at least a year as it looks like he will break into the billionaire bracket as he turns 34 in July.

Andrew Petcash, a sports entrepreneur and former Division 1 basketball player at Boston University, detailed how the Notorious is about to turn the major financial corner in a series of tweets.

“Conor McGregor, 'The Notorious One', excels equally at business and sport,” Petcash sums up. “In his words, fighting is his 'third income'.

“With his smart business moves, he is all set to achieve his personal goal of becoming a billionaire by the time he is 35.”