How Did Roger Federer Make Most of His Money?

David Senra, reading Christopher Clarey's The Master, says Roger Federer is one of the very few billionaire athletes on the planet, and the vast majority of his money has come from off the court.

The business is called Federer Inc. By 2013, Federer's annual income had reached an estimated $71 million, second on the 2013 Forbes list, behind Tiger Woods and ahead of Kobe Bryant. Most of the income is long-term sponsorships. Even in his early years, he would visit all 21 of the sponsor suites at the Swiss Indoor Tournament for meet and greets. He was a long-term Nike athlete. When he could not come to terms with Nike in 2018, he signed a 10-year apparel deal with Uniqlo. That agreement alone had been reported to pay Federer over $30 million a year. In 2020, Forbes named him the world's highest-paid athlete, estimating his annual income at over $100 million a year. Only $6 million of that year's income was official prize money in tennis.

Because the Uniqlo agreement did not cover footwear, Federer also invested in On, a Swiss running shoe company based in Zurich. When On went public, Federer's stake was worth about $300 million. His biggest win in business came 23 years after he turned pro. Of the 128 men who played singles at the 1999 French Open, his debut Grand Slam, he was the last one still playing on tour. He never fell out of love with the sport.