Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi are the highest-paid athletes of 2020. Although Roger Federer ranked fifth last year, he ranked first this year for the first time. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been fighting for the No. 1 spot for four years, however, this time it is different.
Roger Federer earned a total of $106.3 million from his salary, winnings, and endorsements. He is sponsored by Rolex, Uniqlo, Wilson, Mercedes-Benz, Nike, and many more. The largest endorsement is with Uniqlo since they have a 10-year $300 million contract. He gained $130 million in prize money after his astounding career. Moreover, Federer accumulated more than $50 million for his charity foundations in Africa.
Cristiano Ronaldo ranked second by earning a total of $105 million. His salary in Juventus is $60 million and makes $45 million in endorsements. Ronaldo’s biggest endorser is Nike, since in 2016, they made a life-long contract worth $1 billion. Besides Nike, Ronaldo has various endorsers, such as Herbalife, Altice, DAZN, etc. Cristiano also earns money from his clothing brand, CR7, and hotels chain under his CR7 line. A fun fact about Ronaldo is that he is the most followed athlete on Instagram with over 200 million followers; he makes $975,000 for every advertised post.
Lionel Messi earned a total of $104 million from his salary, endorsements, and prize money. His salary in FC Barcelona is $35 million a year and makes about $34 million in sponsorships. His major endorsers are Adidas, Gatorade, Huawei, Pepsi, etc. With the money he earned, Messi founded a charitable foundation known as Leo Messi Foundation. In this foundation children have access to healthcare, education, and sport.
