7 Highest-Paid Athletes in the World in 2021

Sports took a hit when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. However, some of the top athletes still earned a lot of money by what they were able to do on and off the field. Forbes recently released its list of the world's highest-paid athletes and a number of factors played into determining which athletes earned the most money.

Brett Knight of Forbes wrote that they tracked down income collected between May 1 of last year and May 1 of this year " based on conversations with dozens of industry insiders." Forbes used on-the-field and off-the-field earnings to determine an athlete's income. On-the-field earnings include prize money, salaries and bonuses. Off-the-field earnings include "an estimate of sponsorship deals, appearance fees and licensing income for the 12 months" as well as "cash returns from any businesses operated by the athlete."

Some of the names that are among the 10 highest-paid athletes include LeBron James, Lionel Messi, and Conor McGregor. The highest-paid athlete earned a total of $180 million and more nearly all of that came from off-the-field earnings. Here's a look at the seven highest-paid athletes in the world for this year.