The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2020: Behind The Numbers

Pro sports have long been recession proof, their value, appeal and resilience carrying them through 9/11, the Great Recession, a string of natural disasters, and even war.

But they were no match for contagion, which caused income for the 100 highest-paid athletes to fall for the first time in four years, landing at $3.6 billion of combined pre-tax earnings. The downward trend is likely to continue into next year, as leagues stare at an uncertain calendar and an almost certain drop in attendance and revenue when competitions resume later in the year.

The financial fallout has varied by sport and for some by league. MLB player salaries were slashed sharply, while NFL players have yet to be affected. Some soccer players in the U.K.’s Premier League didn’t take a pay cut, while Spain’s La Liga saw salaries slashed as much as 70%. Weaker Formula 1 teams cut driver salaries, while the richest squads have yet to hold back any pay. Boxers like Canelo Alvarez and Anthony Joshua missed out on $30 million paydays with bouts cancelled.

Roger Federer aced the top spot with $106.3 million, after on-field salaries for soccer’s Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were cut, with about $100 million of that coming in from endorsements and appearance fees paid by 13 partners, including Nike, Credit Suisse, Barilla and Rolex.

Sport

Basketball landed the most spots among the 100 highest-paid athletes with 35 players (the same as 2019), while football had 31, up from 19 last year. The NFL’s free agency, where players secure huge signing bonuses, went off without a hitch in March with $4 billion worth of deals negotiated, while salaries have yet to be affected because of the season’s start late in the year. Another benefit: the bonuses are locked in with only base salaries at risk if games get cancelled.

MLB took the biggest hit, with only Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw making the list, down from 15 baseball players in 2019, as players and owners actively negotiate what 2020 pay might look like as the season enters its tenth week of postponement. Gerrit Cole would have earned $12 million for April and May from the nine-year, $324 million contract he signed with the New York Yankees in December, but like all veteran players has received only $286,500 in regular season pay with nothing else promised.

Global soccer had 14 athletes, followed by tennis with six, boxing and golf four each and racing three. Virat Kohli ($26 million) and Conor McGregor ($48 million) were the lone representatives from cricket and mixed martial arts for the fifth straight year. No NHL player or Nascar driver earned the $21.9 million it took to make the list.

Tennis

The good news: Roger became the first tennis player to land the top spot. The bad news: Few insiders think there will be a 2020 tennis season, due to the logistical nightmare of getting 400 players from 70 different countries to a major event and the protocols required. All eyes are on the U.S. Open, which is still looking for a way to salvage the calendar’s annual marquee event, set to start August 24, with a plan to sequester players in New York City.

The big paydays happen after June 1 each year with three of the four Grand Slams, including the Open, which paid $3.85 million last year to the male and female champions.

“I’m more concerned with the Australian Open [in January] than with what happens later this year,” Spanish ace Rafael Nadal told local El Pais this month. “I think 2020 has been practically lost. I’m hopeful of being able to start next year.”

The cancellations will cut into player revenue, as endorsement deals are layered with bonus opportunities for tournament wins and year-end rankings (a grand slam win can be worth seven figures) but also include massive reductions when they don’t play. Only a handful of players are immune to these reductions.

Golf

Golfers, like their tennis peers, are walking billboards, which has helped make Tiger Woods the highest-paid athlete a record 12 times, according to Forbes.

While marketing contracts in both sports are similar with minimum play requirements built into each deal, golf is much closer to coming back, thanks to a playing field that more easily fits into a socially-distanced world. PGA play is scheduled to resume June 11 with the Charles Schwab Classic in Fort Worth, Texas, enabling players to reach minimum event thresholds if they play a packed schedule.

Nationality

Athletes from 21 countries made the cut. The U.S. took the majority of the spots, increasing by six to 68, largely due to the increased number of NFL players this year (the weakened MLB has more international rosters). The NBA’s LeBron James (No. 5, $88.2 million) was the top-earning American.

Boxer Tyson Fury (No. 11, $57 million) led five British athletes, while Spain, led by Rafael Nadal (No. 27, $40 million), had four and France had three, highlighted by 21-year-old soccer star Kylian Mbappe (No. 36. $33.8 million). Brazil, Germany and Japan landed a pair each, while 14 other countries had one athlete in the top 100.

Newcomers, Dropoffs and Movers

Turnover was high this time around, with 41 new names crossing paths on and off the list, due to the impact of reduced salaries. The highest-ranked newcomer was Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, whose four-year, $128 million deal inked in June 2019 paid out $54 million in bonuses in the first 12 months.

Russell Wilson had the biggest fall. The Seattle Seahawks signal caller ranked No. 6 in 2019 with $80 million, thanks to a blockbuster deal that included a $57.5 million bonus but was a no-show in 2020.

Messi, who agreed to a 70% wage cut for the rest of the season in late March along with the rest of his Barcelona teammates, took a $20 million haircut. New Tampa Bay Buccaneer QB Tom Brady ranked 21st, up 60 spots. The move south for the six-time Super Bowl champ included a $10 million roster bonus, after earning $23 million with the New England Patriots last season.

Sponsors

The top 100 earned $1.1 billion from endorsements, memorabilia and appearance fees, up 11% from last year, on top of a 12% gain in 2019. Nike has the most athletes under contract, with 51 of the top 100, capped by the sneaker giant’s $30 million-plus signature deal with LeBron James. Adidas endorses 16 athletes in the top 100, including those under its Reebok brand. Forbes can document 13 athletes sponsored by PepsiCo and its Gatorade and Mountain Dew brands.

Sponsorship spending is expected to fall 37% this year, according to a recent report from marketing firm Two Circles. Endorsement deals have ground to a complete halt over the past two months, while future ones will be at reduced rates for the next year-plus. At least one big sports sponsor, Under Armour, is working with its stable of product endorsers to defer payments. The Baltimore-based brand represents a half-dozen of the 100 highest-paid athletes, including Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and Jordan Spieth.

“We’ve been negotiating and working with them and we’ve been able to get some extended payment terms there, which are helpful just in general with our overall capital preservation efforts,” said Under Armour CFO Dave Bergman on a conference call this month discussing first quarter earnings.

Women

Naomi Osaka set a female athlete earnings record of $37.4 million, usurping fellow tennis star Serena Williams as the highest-ranking woman in the world. The record comes as the equal pay debate in sports gathers momentum following a lawsuit filed last year by five soccer players from the highly successful U.S. Women’s National Team.

Tennis is the one pro sport where paydays for men and women are even in the same zip code and is the only sport with female athletes represented on the annual ranking. In basketball, NBA players often make 100 times what their counterparts in the WNBA do.

The appearance of Osaka and Williams is the first time more than one woman ranked since 2016 when Williams was listed with Maria Sharapova. Williams was the lone female star to make the cut in 2017 and 2019; and in 2018, when the 23-time Grand Slam champion was sidelined after giving birth to daughter Olympia, there were no women ranked.

Age

The average age of the top 100 is 30, down from 31, but a few old-timers creaked on once again. Phil Mickelson, who turns 50 next month, is the oldest, followed by 44-year-old Tiger Woods and a pair of NFL QBs defying Father Time: Brady (42) and Drew Brees (41).

NBA rookie sensation Zion Williamson is the only teenager in the top 100. The 19-year-old earned $27.3 million, largely from endorsements, and celebrates his 20th birthday in July. Ten of the 100 athletes are under 25.

Charity

The shutdown of the NBA on March 11 sounded the alarm regarding the coronavirus for many people. Athletes have stepped up ever since with their own cash donations and used their massive platforms to raise money and awareness. NBA All-Stars Kevin Love and Giannis Antetokounmpo were among the first players to support out-of-work arena workers, committing $100,000 in donations, spurring the NBA’s billionaire owners to set up funds for workers.

Dozens of athletes offered once in a lifetime experiences or memorabilia, as part of Fanatics’ All-In Challenge, which has raised $52 million to help feed Americans. Auctions for dinner with Tom Brady and golf with Peyton Manning raised $800,000 and $525,000 respectively.

Additional reporting: Christina Settimi and Kellen Becoats