Business of sports website Sportico have released their list of the top 100 highest-paid athletes from the last year and the results are remarkable.

Factoring in salary, prize money, endorsement deals and even money earned through memorabilia, the company has compiled an order of who it deems to be sport’s most profitable stars.

Given the challenges sport has faced in relation to the coronavirus pandemic in the last 12 months and the lack of competitive action for a large period of that time, many athletes have ostensibly still benefited, judging from the results below.

Who tops the list?

UFC legend Conor McGregor scoops the top spot on the list by some margin, with earnings of $208 million –– 180 of which came from endorsements. The Notorious has brand deals with the likes of Burger King and Beats, while his Irish whisky, Proper No. Twelve, generated sales of more than $1 billion.

McGregor is some way ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, who takes the second spot. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has reportedly made $126 million in the last year, with $90 million of that sum generated from salary and winnings.

Only two women feature

Unbelievably there are just two women who cracked the top 100, both of whom are tennis players.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka is 15th, in between the former Houston Rockets duo of Rusell Westbrook and James Harden.

The world number two won her second US Open title in 2020 and backed this up by winning this year’s Australian Open as well.

The four-time major champion also acquired more than $50 million in endorsements. Tag Heuer, Levi’s and Louis Vuitton are just some of the global brands associated with the 23-year-old. She’s also launched her own skincare range called Kinló and a swimwear range with Frankies Bikinis.

Osaka’s rival Serena Williams is ranked 44th on the list. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is still chasing a record-equalling 24th major but has played a limited number of tournaments in the last year –– choosing to save herself for the bigger competitions instead.

The 39-year-old remains a global icon and boasts an extensive number of sponsors of her own, including Nike, Wilson, Gatorade, Pepsi and Aston Martin, to name just a few.

Why so many tennis players?

There is no room, however, for US football stars such as Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe. Morgan was the only footballer in Forbes’ 2020 study of the 10 highest-paid female athletes. The other nine were all tennis players.

So why is tennis so much more lucrative than other sports for women? In part, it can be attributed to prize money, with men and women now winning the same amount at Grand Slam events.

But, the bigger reason is that tennis players are given similar exposure. Every major tournament is played at the same time for both men and women, with the majority of matches televised and the higher-ranked players scheduled to play on the bigger courts in front of more fans.

The result is more awareness, more acclaim and more sponsorship for many of the world's top ranked women, hence, why they appear to dominate Forbes’ list.

With the Women’s European Championship set to take place next year, and the FA hoping for record attendances, perhaps we’ll see more female footballers on Sportico’s list in the not too distant future.