“I’m Rather Embarrassed When It’s in the Papers” – Roger Federer on Becoming the Highest-Paid Athlete

Roger Federer keeps making headlines for various things. Recently the Swiss launched a new series of shoes with Swiss Sneakers brand ‘ON’. A few weeks back Federer pipped football stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the highest-earning athlete in 2019 according to Forbes.

For the first time, Federer topped the list. The list was always dominated by Football, Boxing, or Basketball players but this time it’s the Swiss Maestro. Federer reportedly earned 106 million dollars in 2019.

It’s surprising because other sportspersons earn mostly through their salary. Second place Cristiano Ronaldo earned a close 105 million dollars. From that, he earned 60 million through his salary and 45 million through endorsements. But in Federer’s case, he earned merely 6 million from the prize money and a whopping 100 million through endorsements.

“Maybe it’s good for tennis that we can compete with other sports” – Roger Federer

Federer finally reacted to the list in an interview with Zeit. He says it is good for tennis. Because to compete with sports such as football, boxing, etc is tough because the wages there are much higher than tennis. But the former World No.1 was rather embarrassed to have received so much media attention for this.

“Maybe it’s good for tennis that we can compete with football, boxing, Formula 1 and basketball, where the wages are incredible. But I’m rather embarrassed when it’s in the papers.” Federer said

To find the 2nd highest-earning tennis player, you would have to go a bit further down the list. Novak Djokovic is 2nd and he comes in at 23. Rafael Nadal comes in at 27. Among WTA players Naomi Osaka is 29th and Serena Williams is 33rd. Also, Naomi Osaka is the highest-earning Female Athlete.

Read More: Swiss Sneaker Company Gives an Update on the Roger Federer Logo on His New Shoes

Federer was always hovering around number five in the most earning athlete. But to everybody’s surprise, he jumped straight away to capture the Number one spot for the first time. This shows his strong image in the business world that brands want. Federer recently bought a stake in the Swiss Sneaker brand ON with whom he launched a new series of shows a couple of days back.