Egyptian soccerstar Mohammed Salah is the only African athlete on Forbes top 50 sports stars of 2021.

In a year ravaged by pandemic, the magazine reported that Salah made $37 million between May last year and same month this year.

In all, the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes turned in a record-setting year, they made nearly $2.8 billion in 12 months.

Despite the fact that there were hardly any fans in sports venues this year, top athletes made much of their money from endorsements, not just a playing contract.

UFC fighter Conor McGregor lands at No. 1 in the ranking with $180 million following the sale of his majority stake in Irish whiskey distiller Proper No. Twelve. Osaka takes the top spot on the women’s side and No. 12 in the ranking overall with $60 million, crushing the record she set for female athletes just a year ago, when she was No. 29 with $37.4 million.

Lionel Messi also became the highest paid footballer ever when he took home $130 million for the year. His rival Cristiano Ronaldo went home with $120 million payout.

HIGHEST-PAID ATHLETES: 2021

1.
Conor McGregor
Mixed Martial Arts
$180M
2.
Lionel Messi
Soccer
$130M
3.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Soccer
$120M
4.
Dak Prescott
Football
$107.5M
5.
LeBron James
Basketball
$96.5M….

Mohamed Salah
Soccer
$37.5M
38.
Paul George
Basketball
$37M
38.
Chris Jones
Football
$37M
40.
Anthony Davis
Basketball
$36M
40.
Aaron Donald
Football
$36M
40.
Matt Judon
Football
$36M
43.
Paul Pogba
Soccer
$35.5M

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