Conor McGregor claims to have overtaken Real Madrid and Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo as the highest-paid athlete in the world following his 2017 boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The Notorious recently announced a new sponsorship with Burger King, which he has suggested will take him past Ronaldo as the best-paid sportsperson in the world, via his official Instagram account:
The Mirror‘s Martin Domin reported in November that McGregor raked in £75 million for his 10th-round defeat to Mayweather last August, with speculation of a potential mixed martial arts meeting between the two.
The Dubliner hasn’t fought in the Octagon since beating Eddie Alvarez to become the UFC lightweight champion in November 2016.
McGregor may be a popular figure as far as his endorsement deals go, but UFC president Dana White told Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times the former two-weight champion will be stripped of his lightweight crown at UFC 223 on April 7.
That’s when interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will face off against top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, as White said: “That’s exactly right: As soon as one punch is thrown, it’s on for the full title and it’s only fair. They’ve both worked their way up to No. 1 and No. 2. They deserve a shot.”
McGregor also posted a video of his opening advertisement on behalf of Burger King to his Instagram:
Per Domin’s report, McGregor said he earns £500,000 per month when he’s out of competition, equivalent to £6 million a year. Ronaldo earns around £365,000 per week at Real, per Goal’s Oli Platt, meaning it would take him roughly four-and-a-half months to match that figure.
The Notorious spoke to Yahoo Sport in November and broke down his previous appearance on Forbes‘ highest-paid athletes list and his aspirations to eclipse Ronaldo’s status as No. 1:
While MMA is growing every year as a mainstream sport, Ronaldo is one of the best players in football, the most popular sport in the world.
Endorsements such as his new Burger King partnership will help McGregor close the gap on the Portuguese star, but even McGregor’s earnings from his Mayweather duel may struggle to pull him level with Real’s richest.
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