McGregor and McIlroy on Forbes list of top paid athletes
Soccer players occupy the top three spots in the Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes list for 2019 as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar sit on top of a list that sees the biggest names from the worlds of NFL, NBA, boxing and others.
After that trio boxer Canelo Alvarez and Roger Federer round off the top five.
There are two Irish names on the list - Conor McGregor, who is the sole MMA fighter on the list at 21 (he was fourth in 2018) and Rory McIlroy who at number 32 is third of five golfers on the annual list below Tiger Woods (11) and Phil Mickelson (19) but above Jordan Spieth (52) and Justin Rose (47).
The list sees 35 NBA players, 19 from the NFL and 15 from Major League Baseball.
Serena Williams is the only female athlete on the list at 63rd. However, only 15 of those on the list earned more in Endorsements than the American tennis star.
- 1. Lionel Messi $127m
- 2. Cristiano Ronaldo - $109m
- 3. Neymar $105m
- 4. Canelo Alvarez $94m
- 5. Roger Federer $93.4m
- 6. Russell Wilson $89.5m
- 7. Aaron Rodgers $89.3m
- 8. LeBron James $89m
- 9. Stephen Curry $79.8m
- 10. Kevin Durant $65.4m
