5 highest earning athletes per minute in 2021

#3 Tom Brady - $37,000 per minute

Carolina Panthers v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

44-year-old quarter-back Tom Brady led underdogs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title in 2021. Brady is widely viewed as the GOAT of American football. He has been playing the game for a very long time and is best known for his 20-year stint with the New England Patriots.

He was one of their primary starters for as many as 18 seasons. Brady led the Patriots to 17 division titles during that time. This included 11 successive wins between 2008 and 2019. He has won six Super Bowl titles and holds the record for most Super Bowl appearances and wins.

He is also the only player to have been named the Super Bowl MVP for two different sides. Brady is the greatest of all time and his income reflects that. The 44-year-old earned $37,000 per minute in 2021.

#2 Canelo Alvarez - $444,000 per minute

Canelo Alvarez v Caleb Plant

Mexican professional boxer Canelo Alvarez is already a legend of the sport and he is just 31-years-old. He has won world titles in four different weight classes. He has won titles from lightweight to light heavyweight.

Alvarez is also the first boxer to become an undisputed champion at super middleweight. He is familiar to the young generation through several videos that went viral which show Alvarez practicing head and body movements. Alvarez is a tricky customer who is excellent at counter punches.

But it's his ability to avoid punches and strike back with thunderous punches to the body that really gets the crowd going. In November 2021, BoxRec, The Ring, the Boxing Writers Association of America, ESPN and TBRB ranked Alvarez as the best active boxer in the world.

#1 Conor McGregor - $8.6 million per minute

UFC 264: Poirier v McGregor 3

The king of trash talk, Conor McGregor, is the highest earning athlete of 2021. He earned a whopping $8.6 million per minute. Forbes ranked McGregor as the highest earning athlete of 2021.

McGregor is a phenomenon in the MMA world. He is the biggest draw in the history of the sport. McGregor's fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 had 2.4 million pay-per-view buys. He also challenged Floyd Mayweather to a professional boxing match in 2017.

Although he was defeated by Mayweather, the match drew 4.3 million pay-per-view buys. The 33-year-old is a former UFC featherweight and lightweight double-champion.