If you’re thinking about buying a brand new Adidas/Nike sportswear or a Rolex timepiece or even just a Cola, well, go ahead. But think of it this way. Whatever you’re paying up to get that Nike Air Jordan, you’re paying up for a bit of Michael’s penthouse! Pun intended, but this is a world run by big budget brand endorsements by Superstars. And you make them richer than you ever thought.
- Brand CR7! –
Who’s better? Ronaldo or Messi? Well, as per Forbes, Ronaldo makes more money, quite a bit more money. Scoring a record 600th career goal in the 3-1 Champions League Final win over Juventus, there’s just no stopping him.
Even if you’re a Messi loyalist, you can’t deny CR7. Neither will his 122 million Facebook fans. Speaking of which, Hookit says Nike earned $500 million just from Ronaldo’s media value!
And that’s just the start of things. With brands such as Nike, Tag Heuer, Herbalife in his pocket, he earns $35 million from sponsors, ONLY sponsors. Let alone his personal CR7 brand of apparels along with a line of hotels. Let alone the $58 million (Highest Salaried Footballer) he gets just for leading Real Madrid.
His total sum earnings are just shy of a $100 million, a Hundred Million Dollars (About 30 Limited Edition Bugatti Veyrons costing $3.4 million although he already has one!). So? Cristiano Ronaldo is the richest sportsperson on the world.
- LeBron James –
The $100 million contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers along with a bag of endorsements, LeBron James IS NBA for many. Following up from Michael Jordan in making a brand out of himself, James is the 2nd richest.
He’s the 3rd baller to get $30 mill per year-plus contract in NBA. Add that to his endorsements with brands such as Intel, Verizon, Coca-Cola and his production company SpringHill Entertainment, you get a rough figure a shy above $85 million.
- Lionel Messi –
Messi firmly comes in 3rd in this list. His fans might say it’s not about the money. Point taken. But when it’s about the money, Lionel Messi does have a lot to make up (Or maybe it’s not about the money at all.)
His salaries with the Catalans sum up at $53 million while picking up around $27 million more from Adidas, Pepsi, Air Europa, Dolce&Gabanna. Summing up at around $80 million, he’s second richest footballer a long way ahead of the rest.
- Roger Federer –
A perfect example of a gentleman and this comes from the most passionate Nadal fans too. Perhaps that’s why Fedex attracts one of the best list of brands among all celebrities let alone in Sports. Starting with the likes of Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, Credit Suisse and most recently – Barilla Group.
Now, the best tennis players are automatically rich. For an 18 Grand Slam winner, Federer is easily among the richer tennis pros earning around $104 million as prize money over the years. But he’s richer by $625 million (You read it right!) through just endorsements over the past years. And he still earns $50 million every single year!
(Just these 4 names will earn a total of $315 million by the end of this year!)
That’s a whole lot of money. But they deserve every single penny of it don’t they? Or do they? Food for thought!
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