Federer: Earns most money via endorsements of any sportsperson in the world, why?

[King Fed WW]

Forbes have released their sporting rich list for the year.
http://www.forbes.com/athletes/list/
.

Boxer Floyd Mayweather has been named the world's highest-paid sportsperson for the second year running after banking $300million US dollars (€265m) in the last year.
According to figures released by Forbes, endorsements accounted for just $15m of his income, with the majority of the American's earnings coming from last month's super-fight against Manny Pacquiao.

That bout in Las Vegas accounted for most of the $460m increase in earnings of the world's top 100 athletes in 2015, with Pacquiao's takings of $160m comfortably making him the second-highest earner.
Mayweather, golfer Tiger Woods and now Pacquiao are the only athletes to earn nine-figure incomes in a single year.
In third place was Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, who may have lost out to Barcelona rival Lionel Messi on the field, but his earnings of $79.6m were nearly six million more than the Argentinian's.
Woods retained his place in the top-10 despite a dreadful year of injuries and loss of form, thanks to his $50m worth of endorsements, compared to earnings on the course of just $600,000.

Fellow American Phil Mickelson was the best-performing golfer in eighth, $200,000 ahead of Woods. Mickelson, at 44 years of age, was also the oldest member of the top 100, with 23-year-old Barcelona star Neymar the youngest in 23rd spot.

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, who has won two majors in the last 12 months, banked $48.3m, including $32m in sponsorship, to be 12th on the list, just ahead of Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton at 15th with $39m.

Tennis player Maria Sharapova was one of only two female athletes to make the list, with earnings of $29.7m placing her 26th.
Fellow tennis player and world number one Serena Williams was 47th on $24.6m as her earnings from endorsements were dwarfed by world number four Sharapova.

Roger Federer was fifth overall ($67m) thanks to a huge $58m in endorsements, easily the highest figure for non-athletic performance income.
The highest-earning British footballer was Gareth Bale, whose $25.5m salary at Real Madrid put him 18th on the list with $35m.

England captain Wayne Rooney was 34th with $26.9m, with former international team-mate Frank Lampard 87th on $19.7m.
Forbes' earnings figures include salaries, bonuses, prize money and appearance fees, as well as estimates on licensing and endorsement income for the past 12 months.

The list only includes athletes active during the last 12 months.

Federer is 5th overall but easily #1 on purely endorsements, a factor is obviously tennis being an individual sport and players are the brand themselves rather than the team. I am also surprised Federer earns nearly 3x much as Usain Bolt. While I thought Nadal would earn more via endorsements than Nole.

Big up to Maria and Serena as the only sportswomen on the list.

Tennis players in list. 1st is overall money, 2nd is 'salary' 3rd is endorsements'

#5 Roger Federer $67 M $9 M $58 M Tennis
#13 Novak Djokovic $48.2 M $17.2 M $31 M Tennis
#22 Rafael Nadal $32.5 M $4.5 M $28 M Tennis
#26 Maria Sharapova $29.7 M $6.7 M $23 M Tennis
#47 Serena Williams $24.6 M $11.6 M $13 M Tennis
#64 Andy Murray $22.3 M $6.3 M $16 M Tennis
#92 Kei Nishikori $19.5 M $4.5 M $15 M Tennis

 

[Thetouch]

It doesn´t surprise me at all.

Roger is a successful married family man, without any scandals and one of the most popular athletes in the world for at least 10 years. The commercial industry is looking for guys like him. Guys like Meaweather and Woods are either partly hated or not as popular due to scandals/manner etc. It also doesn´t surprise me at all, that Sharapova is ahead of Williams, cause she is more marketable.

 

[Shaolin]

Recognizable the world over. Classy. Greatest ever in his sport.

 

[Legend of Borg]

the GOAT face of tennis

a no brainer

 

[Sysyphus]

The real shock here is Novak earning more endorsements than Rafa. It confirms the fact that he has grown to be a very popular sportsman. Good on him.

Fed is currently the sports icon of the world and a living legend, so no big surprise there.

 

[donquijote]

The real shock here is Novak earning more endorsements than Rafa. It confirms the fact that he has grown to be a very popular sportsman. Good on him.

Fed is currently the sports icon of the world and a living legend, so no big surprise there.

Djokovic is making 31 and Rafa 28 from endorsements, so difference is not that much.
Novak making more by winning matches adds on top of that. (48.2 vs 32.5 in total)

 

[Sysyphus]

Djokovic is making 31 and Rafa 28 from endorsements, so difference is not that much.
Novak making more by winning matches adds on top of that. (48.2 vs 32.5 in total)

Not much, no, but very much expected Rafa to be a bit ahead in that category.

But Novak's marketability is clearly good.

 

[sureshs]

Top cricket players would be high on the list, but the currency exchange rates probably depresses their income. But if you consider the money value within the country of residence, I think they could be way ahead of anyone else.

 

[John6239]

Because tennis tournament earnings are low compared to the top players in other sports. It's just the nature of tennis. Money comes from tickets and from TV rights. A football stadium can hold 80,000 people while the biggest center court can hold around 20,000 and most tournaments and even slam center courts hold less. While tennis is popular in Europe, 100 million don't watch tennis like the superball so tennis is not making as much on TV rights.

The reason why federer earns more than Djokovic and nadal in endorsements outside of tennis is because federer has a global appeal. Nadal doesn't speak English well and is a spanaird. He is not going to appeal to non spanairds. Djokovic is a Serb. He is Slavic. Slavs have a very limited appeal to the rest of Europe. He is also butt ugly.

Federer comes from Switzerland. He speaks English well, speaks Swiss German, German, and french. He has nice hair and a face that appeals to everyone. He is a classy guy and can dress superbly. He can do coffee ads and just as well do bank ads or Mercedes ads or chocholate ads. He just has that appeal to the areas of Europe that matter in terms of advertising. Nadal and Djokovic are more limited to tennis endorsements whether for rackets or tennis clothes.

 

[TheMusicLover]

It doesn´t surprise me at all.

Roger is a successful married family man, without any scandals and one of the most popular athletes in the world for at least 10 years. The commercial industry is looking for guys like him. Guys like Meaweather and Woods are either partly hated or not as popular due to scandals/manner etc.

Yeah, I think the non-'scandal', non-'controversial'-factor is an important matter for this - especially as quite a large part of tennis fandom consists of/is directed towards what you may well call 'decent middle class'-folks, not all too happy with 'stars' crashing cars, committing adultry (hey there, mr. Woods! :twisted: ), and the like.

Compare this to football fandom, where a guy like Ronaldo still apparently makes more bucks than the very decent (nice daddy, diminuitive) Messi - the marketing obviously being directed at quite a different part of society, at least I cannot explain this in any other manner.

Once again it all comes down to PR.
Who knows how this will ensue once Fed retires, and not much later, gets caught up with some 18-year old wet-t-shirt model, sniffing white powder into his nose in some kind of an obscure club. :twisted:

Just ask Borg...

 

[King Fed WW]

Expect Genie to get in there soon, alyhough losing 9 of the last 10 isn't really on.

Luck how much Tiger has fallen as well, just ahead of Phil... Still 50 mil for a scandal hit guy who is ranked 180 and barely played a round recently.

The real shock here is Novak earning more endorsements than Rafa. It confirms the fact that he has grown to be a very popular sportsman. Good on him.

Fed is currently the sports icon of the world and a living legend, so no big surprise there.

Yeah. Maybe because Nadal has never really been the dominant one.

Nadal earned his fame off the back of Federer.

Nadal is known for being Roger's dance partner.

Djokovic is known for being the best tennis player in the world.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

^^^

:lol:

Now you're blitzing the style.

 

[ultradr]

He is certainly the most popular tennis player I've ever seen.

Tennis used to be very narrow marketing tool. Tennis stars in the past used to have
relatively narrow range of their fans, usually serious tennis fans who actually play tennis regularly.

Federer is being liked by wide range of fans, both serious tennis fans and non-playing casual fans.

 

[wy2sl0]

Why? Because he sticks to the script, doesn't beat up women, plays a sport that has class and is Swiss.

Oh, and he just happens to, by the numbers, be the greatest of his sport of all time, while still being active right now.

If Rafa spoke better English and was slightly more extroverted I think he would be closing in on Roger (before the collapse).

 

[Bobby Jr]

Top cricket players would be high on the list, but the currency exchange rates probably depresses their income. But if you consider the money value within the country of residence, I think they could be way ahead of anyone else.

Christ you talk rubbish.

Cricket, like soccer/football, is a team sport so the endorsement potential for an individual is greatly reduced. The can't get their own (full) athletic gear deals and probably a myriad of other endorsement avenues are blocked because of team sponsors. The personal endorsements they can get would pail in significance compared to the individual deals a guy like Federer, Woods, McIlroy can get - even for the biggest name in the game.

Even the IPL, which pays the biggest money for the top players, only pays the top guys about US$3m. That is for about 6-8 weeks commitment. Federer earns more than double that from his sponsors whether he is playing tournaments or on holiday.

 

[The_Mental_Giant]

Expect Genie to get in there soon, alyhough losing 9 of the last 10 isn't really on.

Luck how much Tiger has fallen as well, just ahead of Phil... Still 50 mil for a scandal hit guy who is ranked 180 and barely played a round recently.



Yeah. Maybe because Nadal has never really been the dominant one.

Nadal earned his fame off the back of Federer.

Nadal is known for being Roger's dance partner.

Djokovic is known for being the best tennis player in the world.

Endorsement dont tell the true story.. the reason why federer earns so much more money than nadal or even novak is not because he is that much popular...but because he started winning earlier than both and dominated tennis since late 2003.. thus by 2005 he had already secured the biggest contracts with gilette, nike, etc.. Gilette contract is which makes him so damn rich...

Facebook:

I live in a non-anglo country and everytime I visit some sport accesories shop Rafa is there, and not roger or novak.. years ago it used to be Agassi...

Big posters of rafa and andre agassi seem more marketeable than those from Federer or sampras...

Popularity by google searches...

the most searched sport..

The most searched sportmen ...

https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/896/1*z9hw0P-rHXjoUAhAihd_aA.png

There are only 4 more searched men than nadal on the list..

Now the most searched tennis players..

https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/896/1*sTXUVzQ1CVfs2UgqFx4R2w.png


Djokovic despite being the most succesful player from 2011 onwards still isnt anywhere closer Nadal or Federer.

 

[BreakPoint]

The real shock here is Novak earning more endorsements than Rafa. It confirms the fact that he has grown to be a very popular sportsman. Good on him.

Fed is currently the sports icon of the world and a living legend, so no big surprise there.

Nah....it just means he has a better agent and lawyers who are better negotiators.

 

[Sysyphus]

Nah....it just means he has a better agent and lawyers who are better negotiators.

Sure. Popularity has nothing to do with marketability.

In fact, even Michael Berrer could achieve those endorsement numbers had he the right lawyers and negotiators.

I will never ever be able to understand why an ultimate plonker as Ronaldo makes more money than Messi.

Okay, that's just me.

1000+

I like Messi. Likely has his flaws as anyone, but at least he seems connected to this earth.

I can only guess the world would like to be plonked..

 

[TheMusicLover]

I will never ever be able to understand why an ultimate plonker as Ronaldo makes more money than Messi.

Okay, that's just me.

 

[The_Mental_Giant]

Sure. Popularity has nothing to do with marketability.

In fact, even Michael Berrer could achieve those endorsement numbers had he the right lawyers and negotiators.

The most searched sportmen ...

https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.ne...UAhAihd_aA.png

There are only 4 more searched men than nadal on the list..

Now the most searched tennis players..

https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.ne...2UgqFx4R2w.png


Djokovic despite being the most succesful player from 2011 onwards still isnt anywhere closer (yet)


About popularity.. federer leeched of late 2003, 2004 and 2005 being extremely dominant by the moment he got competition he already secured the biggest contracts (gilette, nike, etc) so everybody showing up was already at disadvantage.. at least in this present era..

 

[dominikk1985]

Tennis like Golf is a Sport that sells a lot of expensive Equipment, which is the reason why the Players make so much Money.

for Team sports that is true too but there it is distributed on more shoulders. most People are not going to buy boxing gloves so mayweather is not going to do many endorsements.

also while in Tennis is much less Money than in some Team sports it is incredibly top heavy. outside the top100 nobody cares about you while in Soccer hundreds of Players are having a good living (probably 1000s worldwide).

that means that Players like federer, nadal, serena or Maria are making a big share of the cake.

 

[El Diablo]

I think advertisers call it your Q-score, basically a measure of how likable you are, and that's how they decide who to put in ads. It's why Arnold Palmer was one of the highest paid athlete endorsers for about four decades, well into his old age, selling everything from beverages to car tires.

 

[BGod]

Not surprising at all. He has a spotless image and having the same dominance that Tiger/Schumacher had for several years elevated him to unbelievable heights.

He was winning nearly everything of importance for 4 years, then 08/09 saw him in a ton of Finals even if he lost half of those.

Tennis is also an individual sport (outside doubles obviously) that is played in a lot more countries and more casually than sports like racing, boxing, etc.

It also doesn't have the same laziness associated with it as golf. Tennis is seen as one of the greatest athletic jousts.

 

[mistik]

I never understand Rafas earning really. He nearly adds a new sponsor every year. This year he signs a deal with Tommy Hilfiger yet he keeps on winning less and less. There is something fishy out there.

 

[Thetouch]

Compare this to football fandom, where a guy like Ronaldo still apparently makes more bucks than the very decent (nice daddy, diminuitive) Messi - the marketing obviously being directed at quite a different part of society, at least I cannot explain this in any other manner.

You got a point of course. I guess Messi is also just too "boring" in a certain way compared to Ronaldo. Ronaldo is like a god for young teens, esp. girls who have a crush on him and boys who look up to him, whereas Messi is probably more adored by adults who don´t like all that being a superstar crap. ^^

Once again it all comes down to PR.
Who knows how this will ensue once Fed retires, and not much later, gets caught up with some 18-year old wet-t-shirt model, sniffing white powder into his nose in some kind of an obscure club. :twisted:

It will happen! :twisted:

Endorsement dont tell the true story.. the reason why federer earns so much more money than nadal or even novak is not because he is that much popular...but because he started winning earlier than both and dominated tennis since late 2003.. thus by 2005 he had already secured the biggest contracts with gilette, nike, etc.. Gilette contract is which makes him so damn rich...

Well I don´t know when his contract with Gilette expires but it makes sense to me that guys like Federer and T. Henry actually make advertisement for Gilette than that boyish never grow up looking guy from Portugal. ;-)

 

[BreakPoint]

Sure. Popularity has nothing to do with marketability.

Sure it does, but it's not always a direct correlation.

Is Nishikori more popular and well-known worldwide than Serena Williams? No, but he earns more in endorsements.

Plenty of less popular and less well-known athletes and actors make more money than their better known and more popular counterparts. It happens all the time. Why? They have better agents and lawyers.

 

[heftylefty]

Sure it does, but it's not always a direct correlation.

Is Nishikori more popular and well-known worldwide than Serena Williams? No, but he earns more in endorsements.

Plenty of less popular and less well-known athletes and actors make more money than their better known and more popular counterparts. It happens all the time. Why? They have better agents and lawyers.

It has more to do with the market they are advertising in. Li Na makes a ton of money because she in the world's largest consumer market. Kei makes bank because in Japan he's a rock star.

 

[Kalin]

The real shock here is Novak earning more endorsements than Rafa...

Worry not, Rafa is the undisputed moral winner of this comparison. Actually, he probably leads the moral endorsement list or at least is tied there with Phil Mickelson who's a pretty moral guy on his own.

 

[jeebeesus]

largely becos he doesnt pick his butt

nor do attention getting clownish acts like mimicking others

 

[chjtennis]

He is simply the most popular and marketable player in tennis. Not difficult to see that, as many people have mentioned already. Here's Forbe's list of Top 20 richest athletes in 2015.

1 Floyd Mayweather Jr. (boxing): $300 million
2 Manny Pacquiao (boxing): $160 million
3 Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer): $79.6 million
4 Lionel Messi (soccer): $73.8 million
5 Roger Federer (tennis): $67 million
6 LeBron James (basketball): $64.8 million
7 Kevin Durant (basketball): $54.1 million
8 Phil Mickelson (golf): $50.8 million
9 Tiger Woods (golf): $50.6 million
10 Kobe Bryant (basketball): $49.5 million
11 Ben Roethlisberger (football): $48.9 million
12 Rory McIlroy (golf): $48.3 million
13 Novak Djokovic (tennis): $48.2 million
14 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (soccer): $39.1 million
15 Lewis Hamilton (racing): $39 million
16 Ndamukong Suh (football): $38.6 million
17 Fernando Alonso (racing): $35.5 million
18 Gareth Bale (soccer): $35 million
19 Jon Lester (baseball): $34.1 million
20 Derrick Rose (basketball): $33.9 million

Djokovic seems to have finally received the rewards for his achievements, overtaking Nadal in total earnings(I don't know if he did that last year as well). Nadal seems to be much more popular than Novak, but looks like Novak's dominance has finally paid off. Good to see.

 

[sureshs]

Christ you talk rubbish.

Cricket, like soccer/football, is a team sport so the endorsement potential for an individual is greatly reduced. The can't get their own (full) athletic gear deals and probably a myriad of other endorsement avenues are blocked because of team sponsors. The personal endorsements they can get would pail in significance compared to the individual deals a guy like Federer, Woods, McIlroy can get - even for the biggest name in the game.

Even the IPL, which pays the biggest money for the top players, only pays the top guys about US$3m. That is for about 6-8 weeks commitment. Federer earns more than double that from his sponsors whether he is playing tournaments or on holiday.

In 2013, Sachin made $18 million in endorsements and that too at the end of his career.

Dhoni had a $42 million endorsement deal over 3 years. In 2014, he made $26 million in endorsements.

 

[Kalin]

Nadal doesn't speak English well and is a spanaird. He is not going to appeal to non spanairds. Djokovic is a Serb. He is Slavic. Slavs have a very limited appeal to the rest of Europe. He is also butt ugly.

Great points! Uneducated 'Spaniards' like Spanish-speaking Leo Messi and Christiano Ronaldo (admittedly Portuguese, but close) and those ugly, unpopular Slavs, like Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Aga Radwanska and Grigor Dimitrov can't hold a candle to the austere beauty and grace of angry-Nordic-god-like Andy Murray with his clenching bite and lithe Roger Federer with his fine, yet rugged, Swiss-herdsman-like dour features, hence the abysmally low popularity of the inferior Spaniards and Slavs. This also explains why there are only 6 'Spaniards' among the world's 10 most popular athletes in the world + a German Turk, an Indian and a Black man. Blonde tattooed beauty David Beckham rules above them all albeit, shockingly, not from the top place where you'd think he'd belong knowing he can speak (and probably even write, rudimentary) in almost-BBC-worthy English.

Historically, Slavs have also suffered in the popularity stakes. Ana Kournikova was widely known for winning lots of high-level singles tournaments but was wildly unpopular on a personal level due to her being ugly and Slavic. We're all glad she's gone to be replaced by the fine face of Genie Bouchard decisively framed by her steroid-fuelled-lumberjack-resembling lower jaw.

Jesus, Wawrinka's win has opened the gates of Hell, I fear...

 

[sureshs]

Federer's value is due to the wealth in the hands of old people.

Muscular and handsome Nadal appeals to the young demographic who don't have much money.

 

[Mick]

He is simply the most popular and marketable player in tennis. Not difficult to see that, as many people have mentioned already. Here's Forbe's list of Top 20 richest athletes in 2015.

1 Floyd Mayweather Jr. (boxing): $300 million
2 Manny Pacquiao (boxing): $160 million
3 Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer): $79.6 million
4 Lionel Messi (soccer): $73.8 million
5 Roger Federer (tennis): $67 million
6 LeBron James (basketball): $64.8 million
7 Kevin Durant (basketball): $54.1 million
8 Phil Mickelson (golf): $50.8 million
9 Tiger Woods (golf): $50.6 million
10 Kobe Bryant (basketball): $49.5 million
11 Ben Roethlisberger (football): $48.9 million
12 Rory McIlroy (golf): $48.3 million
13 Novak Djokovic (tennis): $48.2 million
14 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (soccer): $39.1 million
15 Lewis Hamilton (racing): $39 million
16 Ndamukong Suh (football): $38.6 million
17 Fernando Alonso (racing): $35.5 million
18 Gareth Bale (soccer): $35 million
19 Jon Lester (baseball): $34.1 million
20 Derrick Rose (basketball): $33.9 million

Djokovic seems to have finally received the rewards for his achievements, overtaking Nadal in total earnings(I don't know if he did that last year as well). Nadal seems to be much more popular than Novak, but looks like Novak's dominance has finally paid off. Good to see.

Nadal earns less than Federer and Djokovic but since he is singles, he is actually richer. The other fellows are married so they have to share their earnings with the wives and them wives have a lot of expenses


1. Federer $67 million / 2 = $33.5 million
2. Nadal $32.5 million
3. Djokovic $48.2 million / 2 = $24.2 million

 

[sureshs]

Add to this that Nadal does not pay uncle Toni for coaching. His father runs Toni's restaurant as an exchange for coaching his son.

 

[onehandbh]

Federer was and is comfortable being a star. He genuinely seems to like the fans and embraces his position. In front of the camera and media he also seems more comfortable than most other players.

One of my friends has met him several times while working at tournaments. When fans and anyone approaches him, he is always friendly and talks to them just like an ordinary person. He also lets people take photos of him and doesn't mind.

 

[chjtennis]

Nadal earns less than Federer and Djokovic but since he is singles, he is actually richer. The other fellows are married so they have to share their earnings with the wives and them wives have a lot of expenses


1. Federer $67 million / 2 = $33.5 million
2. Nadal $32.5 million
3. Djokovic $48.2 million / 2 = $24.2 million

You know what people say? You save more once you get married.

 

[BreakPoint]

It has more to do with the market they are advertising in. Li Na makes a ton of money because she in the world's largest consumer market. Kei makes bank because in Japan he's a rock star.

The U.S. is the biggest tennis market in the word, so why isn't Isner making that kind of money?

 

[BreakPoint]

The reason why federer earns more than Djokovic and nadal in endorsements outside of tennis is because federer has a global appeal. Nadal doesn't speak English well and is a spanaird. He is not going to appeal to non spanairds. Djokovic is a Serb. He is Slavic. Slavs have a very limited appeal to the rest of Europe. He is also butt ugly.

Federer comes from Switzerland. He speaks English well, speaks Swiss German, German, and french. He has nice hair and a face that appeals to everyone. He is a classy guy and can dress superbly. He can do coffee ads and just as well do bank ads or Mercedes ads or chocholate ads. He just has that appeal to the areas of Europe that matter in terms of advertising. Nadal and Djokovic are more limited to tennis endorsements whether for rackets or tennis clothes.

Yeah, but there are a lot of Spanish-speaking people all over the world, including here in the U.S.

In fact, a lot more people in the world speak Spanish than speak English:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0775272.html

 

[chjtennis]

Federer was and is comfortable being a star. He genuinely seems to like the fans and embraces his position. In front of the camera and media he also seems more comfortable than most other players.

One of my friends has met him several times while working at tournaments. When fans and anyone approaches him, he is always friendly and talks to them just like an ordinary person. He also lets people take photos of him and doesn't mind.

Federer simply is a sponsor's dream athlete. A legendary player who is articulate(not just talking about his English proficiency), intelligent, smart enough to know what to say, good looking, never gets into trouble, has clean lifestyle and good image which are all helpful to project better image for the company. No wonder why sponsors sign him up for big pay days.

 

[Sentinel]

Federer's value is due to the wealth in the hands of old people.

Muscular and handsome Nadal appeals to the young demographic who don't have much money.

HAHAHA !!!

largely becos he doesnt pick his butt

...

suresh, jee's reply suits you too , LOL.

 

[ZiggyStardust]

The U.S. is the biggest tennis market in the word, so why isn't Isner making that kind of money?

Because the U.S. has plenty of athletes far more iconic than Isner. Li na is possibly China's most marketable sportsperson. Japan is an extremely rich, tennis crazy, capitalist country and Nishikori is the best tennis player they've had in ages. That leads to his rockstar status, and huge popularity within his country.
There is also the fact that a Japanese player, can make a lot of money purely through endorsing Japanese brands, within Japan. Hard for a Serbian to make quite that much. Djokovic's popularity is deservedly rising, as a result of his domination at the top of his sport.

 

[Sentinel]

Top cricket players would be high on the list, but the currency exchange rates probably depresses their income. But if you consider the money value within the country of residence, I think they could be way ahead of anyone else.

Just wondering whether the appeal of crickets players is largely in their own country.
I imagine Sachin is a huge hero only in India, and i've seen people from other cricketing countries here say he is not great for them.

I have seen some ads on telly that show 3 players from different countries, but i don't think it would work if only some foreign player was featured. Whereas we have lots of ads with just Federer and a few with only Nadal (Kia).

LOL, I can't imagine Kapil Dev coming in ads in the UK or Aus. Does he ? Nowadays he is on all channels promoting some stock market league.

 

[Sentinel]

Add to this that Nadal does not pay uncle Toni for coaching. His father runs Toni's restaurant as an exchange for coaching his son.

So the father pays the son's dues through lifelong indentured servitude since the son doesn't pay the uncle !

This is a horrible form of parent abuse ! and should be reported to the Society for Parent Abuse.

 

[chjtennis]

BTW, Nadal doesn't just appeal to Spanish speaking people. He has a huge fan base across the world, only second to Fed. Federer's natural bureaucratic instinct would win more fans than anyone else in tennis, but Rafa built his fan base thanks to his tennis ability, achievements, looks and his rivalry with Federer. If you go to tennis events around the world, you'll find out they are the two most popular guys in tennis. However, more and more young kids now look up to Nole, no surprise really, after his long domination in men's tennis. I've read that Hyeon Chung's tennis idol is actually Djokovic and I'm sure he's not alone. Novak deserves that.

 

[AngieB]

The #ONLY reason why #Roger leads is because #TigerWoods was caught in a marital scandal. If it weren't for that, #Tiger would still be #1.

#AngiesLyst​

 

[chjtennis]

The #ONLY reason why #Roger leads is because #TigerWoods was caught in a marital scandal. If it weren't for that, #Tiger would still be #1.

#AngiesLyst​

Wrong. Even tiger Woods of old wouldn't be able to beat Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on this year's list. Their $400m pay day was just crazy hyped up and I wonder if they really deserve that much, especially Money Floyd.

 

[zep]

Federer has managed to create the best PR persona in tennis. You would hardly get an answer from him which is not diplomatic. Now a days he does not even show his arrogant self after losses like he used to do. Combine that with the clean "image" and the 2004-07 dominance over mediocre competition he becomes an instant hit. He should be a case study at business schools.

 

[merlinpinpin]

Nadal earns less than Federer and Djokovic but since he is singles, he is actually richer. The other fellows are married so they have to share their earnings with the wives and them wives have a lot of expenses


1. Federer $67 million / 2 = $33.5 million
2. Nadal $32.5 million
3. Djokovic $48.2 million / 2 = $24.2 million

Actually, even using your calculations, Nadal comes up second behind Fed, which is probably fitting.

As for Federer, as others said, he is a dream come true for announcers, both on court (best tennis 'style' in like forever, sportmanship awards by the millions) and off-court (no scandals, nice guy always doing interviews in three languages, charity work, etc.). Also, his appeal goes far outside the world of tennis and sports in general, as shown in this incredible poll from 2011 which put him at #2 (behind Mandela) as "most respected, admired and trusted individual in the world", which is crazy for an athlete. :shock:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2011/09/Features/Federer-Mandela-Most-Respected.aspx

 

[Tiger8]

Wrong. Even tiger Woods of old wouldn't be able to beat Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on this year's list. Their $400m pay day was just crazy hyped up and I wonder if they really deserve that much, especially Money Floyd.

Very true, simply no way anybody but a boxer can make that sort of money. Saying that, they for sure do not deserve that amount of money. I'll never understand how these guys basically fight once and make hundreds of millions, while a tennis player plays over 80 (average) matches a year, or a soccer players plays around 60+ matches a year, yet doesn't even make a third of Floyd. Capitalism :lol: