Roger Federer is the 10th highest-paid athlete of all time with income of $1.12 billion - Report
According to a recent report released by Sportico, Roger Federer features on the list of 10 highest-paid athletes of all time. With an inflation-adjusted income of $1.12 billion, Federer ranks 10th on the list.
However, the 20-time Major champion jumps to the seventh spot if non-inflation adjusted earnings are taken into account. In this case, Federer's lifetime earnings amount to exactly $1 billion.
Federer is the first tennis player whose lifetime income has touched the $1 billion mark when not adjusted for inflation. Most of the Swiss' income comes from endorsements and sponsorship deals. His 10-year-long contract with Uniqlo guarantees him a sum upwards of $300 million and is one of the primary sources of his wealth.
As per Sportico, the earnings factored in while calculating the wealth of athletes included money made from salaries, prize money, purses, bonuses, endorsements, licensing, royalties, memorabilia, book deals, and appearances.
They also included "cash earned from equity stakes in sponsor companies," which also might have tremendously boosted Federer's wealth given his association with footwear brand On Running.
Federer invested an undisclosed sum into the company back in 2019. On Running recently went public and is said to be valued at upwards of $5 billion, meaning Federer's stake from 2019 would likely have fetched him bumper profits.
Roger Federer ranks above David Beckham and Kobe Bryant on the list of highest-paid athletes
As mentioned previously, Roger Federer is the only tennis player to feature on this list. Novak Djokovic misses out despite earning more prize money than the Swiss. Federer ranks below Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Cristiano Ronaldo, Floyd Mayweather, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, and Michael Schumacher on the inflation-adjusted earnings list.
However, the Swiss is ahead of the likes of David Beckham, Kobe Bryant and Mike Tyson. Jordan tops the list with a whopping income of $2.62 billion.
As per the report, Rafael Nadal makes the cut for the 25 highest-paid athletes of all time when not accounting for inflation. Meanwhile, Serena Williams is the highest-paid female athlete with $480 million of inflation-adjusted earnings; she ranks in the top 40 in the all-time list.