Roger Federer Tops List Of The World's Highest-Paid
Tennis Players
Total prize money at this year’s U.S. Open will be a record $25.5
million with the men’s and women’s champions collecting $1.9 million apiece. But
the real action is off the court, where elite tennis players jockey for
multimillion dollar endorsement deals and lucrative exhibition fees.
Younger rivals Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have challenged Roger Federer on the court in recent years, but no one touches the Swiss maestro off
it when it comes to earnings power. Federer is the highest-paid tennis player
in the world with earnings of $54.3 million between July 2011 and July 2012.
Federer earned $9.3 million in prize money
and an estimated $45 million from sponsors, exhibitions and appearance fees
over the past 12-months. His ace sponsor roster includes Credit Suisse, Gillette, Mercedes-Benz, Rolex and more. Federer’s biggest deal is
with Nike,
which pays him more than $10 million annually.
Companies gravitate to
Federer because of his incredible consistency. He appeared in 18 out of 19
Grand Slam finals between 2005 and 2010, including 10 straight at one point. Federer
extended his record for Grand Slam championships in July at Wimbledon
with his 17th overall title. The win elevated him to
the No. 1 ranking in the world, and he broke the record for most weeks at the
top of the rankings. Pete Sampras held the old mark at 286 weeks.
Federer also commands the biggest fees at
more than $1 million per event for exhibitions and tournament appearances
outside the U.S.
He is heading to South America for the first
time in December for a series of five exhibitions that will be one of his
biggest paydays to date.
The sports sponsorship market has been
dinged in recent years along with the rest of the economy, but the best tennis
players still pull in huge endorsement dollars. Credit the global nature of the
sport, year-round tournaments and the demographics of the most ardent fans, who
have high disposable incomes to spend on apparel, equipment, cars and watches.
The ten top-earning
players raked in some $212 million in the past year, with roughly 75% derived
from endorsements, appearances and exhibition fees. The top earners are split
evenly between men and women. Players from eight different countries make up
the top ten, with No. 6 Serena Williams and No. 10 Andy Roddick the only Americans.
Nadal ranks No. 2 with
earnings of $32.4 million over the past year. The 26-year-old Spaniard won his
record seventh French Open title in June before a knee injury knocked him out
of the Olympics. The injury will keep him sidelined for the U.S. Open as well. Nadal
has won $50 million in career prize money, second most all-time behind Federer.
Nadal pulls down $25 million annually off the court thanks to million-dollar
appearance fees and big sponsorships with the likes of Nike, Bacardi, Kia Motors and Babolat. Federer, Nadal and
Djokovic have won 29 out of the past 30 Grand Slam tournaments (Juan Martin del
Potro’s 2009 U.S. Open is the exception). The Big Three also soak up most of
the money in the sport. Djokovic, ranks No. 4 overall among the top earners
with $19.8 million during the past 12-months. Djokovic’s earnings are stunted
by his shoe and apparel deal. He signed a 10-year, incentive-laden deal with
clothing brand Sergio Tacchini in 2009, but the bonuses from his historic 2011
season blew up Tacchini’s marketing budget and the company stopped paying him. Tacchini
also had distribution problems with its tennis apparel outside of Italy .
Tacchini and Djokovic parted ways in
May, and the 25-year-old Serb signed a new deal with Japanese clothing brand
Uniqlo.
Maria Sharapova leads five women on the list with earnings of $27.1 million, which ranks No. 3 overall. Sharapova completed a career Grand Slam with her French Open title in June. Her eight-year Nike deal is the biggest in women’s sports and should top $70 million, including royalties. It is money well spent. Sales of Nike’s Maria Sharapova Collection of tennis apparel doubled in 2011. Her ballet flat is the best selling female shoe for Nike subsidiary, Cole Haan. Next up for Sharapova: her own line of candy, Sugarpova, in conjunction with Jeff Rubin, CEO of IT’Sugar.
Maria Sharapova leads five women on the list with earnings of $27.1 million, which ranks No. 3 overall. Sharapova completed a career Grand Slam with her French Open title in June. Her eight-year Nike deal is the biggest in women’s sports and should top $70 million, including royalties. It is money well spent. Sales of Nike’s Maria Sharapova Collection of tennis apparel doubled in 2011. Her ballet flat is the best selling female shoe for Nike subsidiary, Cole Haan. Next up for Sharapova: her own line of candy, Sugarpova, in conjunction with Jeff Rubin, CEO of IT’Sugar.
The
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