MIxed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has been named as the world’s highest earning athlete per minute as he made €945,000 in just nine seconds.
The latest data revealed the Crumlin native earns €6.3million every minute he spends in the ring – faster even than Brazil’s World Cup star Neymar. That is despite MMA star Conor, 34, dubbed The Notorious by his fans – fighting just once in the last 18 months.
His leg was broken in a loss to Dustin Poirier in the summer of last year and he has not fought since and is not expected to enter the octagon again until next year. With estimated fight earnings of €31million, experts believe McGregor tops a table of world beaters like boxers Saul Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury, and celeb boxer Jake Paul.
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A spokesperson for sports site OLBG said: “We all know the top athletes in the world are incredibly wealthy, earning millions and millions of dollars each year. “But which of the world’s top sports people are working the hardest to bring home the bacon?
“We wanted to study the earnings of the highest-paid athletes in the past 12 months and compare this with how many minutes they spent on the field, court, or ring, to find out who makes the most money for every minute of competitive action.
“Our research and further findings revealed Ireland’s Conor McGregor is the highest earning athlete per minute in 2022. He earned $6,600,000 per minute and took only nine seconds of action to earn $1m.
“Across boxing and MMA, Conor McGregor, Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury and YouTuber Jake Paul are all in the top five athletes earning the most money per minute.
“The highest earning soccer player per minute is Neymar who earns €28,069 per minute and takes only 33 minutes, 15 seconds to earn €950,000.”
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo iss in 30th place with earnings per minute of €18,000 and takes 53 minutes, 40 seconds, to earn €950,000.
Conor posted a photo of himself with Saul Canelo Alvarez and Cristiano Ronaldo and joked: “Grafters the lads are, fair play.”
Fans hope Conor could return in the new year against Rafael Dos Anjos.
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