Roger Federer Beats Cristiano Ronaldo To Become The Highest Paid Athlete In The World

Many people opined that the coronavirus crisis has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Roger Federer. The reason? Simply because he gets to hold on to his records for a longer period of time amidst the onslaught of Grand Slam victories by Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the past few years.

However, the latest achievement that he has set aside for himself has nothing to do with his records. Well, maybe it does to an extent. Federer has been declared as the highest-earning athlete of 2020 by the Forbes magazine.

This is the first time since the year 1990 that a tennis player has topped this list. The reasons are numerous, but the pandemic is the prime one, according to the editor of the magazine. Let’s get to the bottom of this achievement.

Know More – “Don’t Give Me That Sh*T” – When Roger Federer Ranted With The Chair Umpire

How did Roger Federer become the highest-paid athlete? 

Roger Federer earned $106.3 million in the past year. Last year’s list ranked the Swiss maestro at number 5.

Federer is followed by Cristiano Ronaldo at number 2 who retains his spot. Lionel Messi, who topped the list last year slips down to the third position. Neymar completes the list at number 4, with Lebron James at number 5.

“The coronavirus pandemic triggered salary cuts for soccer stars Messi and Ronaldo, clearing the way for a tennis player to rank as the world’s highest-paid athlete for the first time,” said Kurt Badenhausen, Senior Editor, Forbes. “Roger Federer is the perfect pitchman for companies, resulting in an unparalleled endorsement portfolio of blue-chip brands worth $100 million a year for the tennis great.”

Know More – When Stan Wawrinka Got Into A Fight With Roger Federer’s Wife

It was a poor year financially for all the athletes. The 100 highest-paid athletes earned $3.6 billion in the past year, which is a nine percent drop from the previous year. This is what Badenhausen had to say about it –

The global health crisis proves that when the economy fails, even the world’s wealthiest athletes take a big hit. Salaries and endorsement income have skyrocketed the past decade, but both are headed for precipitous falls, as revenues plummet for major sports leagues and companies tighten their marketing budgets.”

Roger Federer has earned every bit of this accolade. Years of hard work has gone behind his current stature. It’s also a proud moment for tennis as one of its own stars has left behind some of the biggest athletes in the world.