Roger Federer above Tiger Woods but behind LeBron James in Forbes list
By Chris Myson
Roger Federer featured in Forbes’ list of the highest-earning athletes over this decade, finishing in close proximity to LeBron James and Tiger Woods.
Forbes have revealed the highest earning athletes of the decade, with tennis star Roger Federer landing in fifth place.
He ended up one position behind Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James and just in front of the biggest star in golf, Tiger Woods.
Federer earned $640 million over the course of the 2010s as he remained one of his sport’s most high-profile figures and continued playing on the ATP Tour deep into his 30s.
Prize money played some part, but it was mainly lucrative endorsement deals which meant Federer was the only tennis figure to make the top 10 of the prestigious list.
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Forbes added that the Swiss star’s 10-year, $300m with Uniqlo, just signed in 2018, will keep his earnings high through the next decade too.
Forbes’ calculations are made up of “salaries, prize money, bonuses, endorsements, appearance fees and licensing income.”
No NFL, MLB or NHL players made the top 10, which included two boxers, two soccer stars, two golfers, two NBA players and one representative from motorsport, along with Federer.
Across all sports, Serena Williams was the only woman in the first 40 positions.
Serena’s tennis success, marketing power and other projects saw her earn $215m, but even that huge figure was just over half that of the 10th-placed star, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton ($400m).
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The list was topped by boxer Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Jr, who landed an astonishing $915m over the last 10 years, boosted by massive fights against Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor.
Mayweather quoted the top five in the rankings on Twitter and added: “Congratulations to every athlete on this list!” He later made a further post about the topic on Instagram, listing the full top 10.
"He wrote:”First I want to congratulate every other athlete on this list and second I am honored to have accomplished such record breaking numbers. No disrespect to anyone but I did these numbers really in 5 years due to a couple of layoffs and with NO endorsements.“I never wanted an endorsement deal from anyone because my vision was always to be my own boss and have no obligations to anyone. So I started my own promotion company and own brand (TMT) in which we are continuing to grow and soon will be the endorsers.“You can say what you want about Floyd Mayweather but the numbers and accolades don’t lie. This is truly about hard work and dedication and knowing your worth.”"
Soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who were discussed by Rafael Nadal this week, were second and third on the list for the 2010s.
Messi had been the highest-earning athlete of 2019 with $127m, but Ronaldo edged him out for the whole decade, which Forbes mainly put down to the Juventus star’s lucrative deal with Nike.
Earlier this year, Forbes had revealed Roger Federer’s 2019 earnings were $93.4m, of which the vast majority, $86m, were earned off the court.
They added: “Roger Federer has a dozen sponsors looking to tap the cash-rich tennis fan demographic.”
The closest two athletes to the 38-year-old in the decade’s highest earners were LeBron and Woods.
LeBron finished $40m in front of Federer with a decade haul of $680m, Forbes saying he earned twice as much from endorsements than his playing salaries.
Woods ($615m) was just $25m short of Federer. His endorsement deals were the biggest of all athletes, though his golf earnings were not as high due to how few events he has played over the last 10 years.
He is known to have a good relationship with Federer and attended the US Open earlier this year to see him play, as well as watching matches where he cheered on another of his close friends, Nadal, in addition to taking in Serena’s quarterfinal victory.
Roger Federer was recently named GQ’s Most Stylish Man of the Decade and won the ATP Fans’ Favorite award for a 17th straight year.
The Swiss star is nearing the end of his tennis career, but recently gave fans hope he could be around for a while yet by saying he did not agree with the need to retire while he was still at the top of the game.
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For all his off court success, what Roger Federer wants most in 2020 is another Grand Slam title, with his first opportunity coming soon at the Australian Open.