Roger Federer is the most marketable sports star in the world
He is no stranger to being on top of a list. Roger Federer, who enjoyed an incredible 302 weeks as World No.1 in the ATP rankings is now the most marketable sports star in the world.
In a list compiled by the London School of Marketing, Federer leads the pack ahead of 14-time Major winner Tiger Woods. The 17-time Grand Slam champion has the company of six other tennis players in the Top 20.
The list was compiled taking into account the athlete’s sponsors, advertising income as a percentage of their total earnings alongwith their social media reach.
World No. 1 and recently crowned Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic is seventh, ahead of 9-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal. Maria Sharapova (12th) and Serena Williams (20th) are the only two women to make it to the Top 20.
When asked about Federer being on top of the list, Jacques de Cock, a faculty member at London School of Marketing said:
“He may not have won Wimbledon this year, but it’s Federer’s personal characteristics which sponsors find so attractive.
“There are four main reasons why brands want to be associated with sports stars and the first explains why the list is almost exclusively male; it enables marketers to advertise to the traditionally hard to reach 16 – 30 year old male bracket. Sport is the obvious way to do this due to the ‘hero’ status of many sportsmen.
“Sports stars are also brilliant vessels for increasing brand awareness purely down to the sheer volume of people who watch sport.
“Thirdly, a sports star endorsement can validate product features, especially for sports brands.
“Finally sports stars can boost a brand’s equity. The values attributed to sportsmen (honesty, hard work, dedication, skill, etc.) can be of significant value to brands that are not naturally associated with this, for instance, banking, insurance and utilities.”
Indian One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty-20 International (T20I) skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only cricketer to find a place in the list. Woods, who missed the cut at the Open last week continues to be the darling of brands as he sits on second position.
The richest athlete in the world in terms of prize money earned,Floyd Mayweather is 19th. FC Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Neymar are 13th and 15th on the list respectively, while Cristiano Ronaldo occupies the 10th spot.
Here is the full list:
| Position | Player | Sport |
| 1 | Roger Federer | Tennis |
| 2 | Tiger Woods | Golf |
| 3 | Phil Mickelson | Golf |
| 4 | LeBron James | Basketball |
| 5 | Kevin Durant | Basketball |
| 6 | Rory McIlroy | Golf |
| 7 | Novak Djokovic | Tennis |
| 8 | Rafael Nadal | Tennis |
| 9 | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Cricket |
| 10 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Football |
| 11 | Kobe Bryant | Basketball |
| 12 | Maria Sharapova | Tennis |
| 13 | Lionel Messi | Football |
| 14 | Usain Bolt | Track |
| 15 | Neymar | Football |
| 16 | Andy Murray | Tennis |
| 17 | Kei Nishikori | Tennis |
| 18 | Derrick Rose | Basketball |
| 19 | Floyd Mayweather | Boxing |
| 20 | Serena Williams | Tennis |