Conor McGregor featured on Forbes list of highest paid celebrities

Conor McGregor is not only one of the highest paid athletes in the world, but one of the highest paid celebrities period.

Despite fighting just once since 2018, the Irish MMA superstar placed on Forbes‘ list of the highest paid celebrities in the world in 2020, nabbing the No. 53 spot with $48M in earnings. While McGregor ranked well behind the likes of Kylie Jenner and Kanye West, and other pugilists such as Tyson Fury, he’s positioned ahead of the likes of NBA star James Harding, NFL star Tom Brady, pop stars Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez, and boxers Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.

Given McGregor’s inactivity in the cage, his position on this list would seem to have little to do with his MMA earnings, and more to do with his ventures outside of competition, most notably his tremendously popular Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey. However, Forbes reports he earned roughly $30M for his January defeat of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, and that his sponsorship deal with Reebok is worth about $5M.

Interestingly, when McGregor reacted to his placement on this list on Twitter, he also claimed that his Proper No. Twelve revenue was not factored into his earnings, and that if it was, he’d be No. 1 on the list.

“Thanks guys, I’m also actually number 1,” McGregor said on Twitter. “Proper’s undisclosed.”

Conor McGregor announced his retirement from MMA on June 6, though many fans doubt that retirement will last.

“The game just does not excite me, and that’s that,” McGregor told ESPN after announcing his retirement on Twitter. “All this waiting around. There’s nothing happening. I’m going through opponent options, and there’s nothing really there at the minute. There’s nothing that’s exciting me.

“I’m a bit bored of the game. I’m here watching the fight,” McGregor added. “I watched the last show — the [Tyron] Woodley-[Gilbert] Burns show — I watched the show tonight. I’m just not excited about the game, Ariel. I don’t know if it’s no crowd. I don’t know what it is. There’s just no buzz for me.”

What do you make or Conor McGregor placing on this list?