Roger Federer Tops Forbes' Highest-Paid Athlete List Due to COVID Pay Cuts
Forbes' Top Paid Athletes Federer Beats Out Messi & Ronaldo ... Because of COVID
Roger Federer is finally #1 on the Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes list -- but it's all because two superstars took a pay hit thanks to COVID.
The 38-year-old tennis superstar reportedly raked in $106.3 million from June 1, 2019 to June 1, 2020 (in pre-taxed earnings) from prize money and endorsements.
Federer earned $6.3 million in prize money -- but the bulk of his financial haul comes by way of endorsements ... $100 MILLION from deals with companies like Uniqlo, Credit Suisse, Mercedes-Benz, Rolex and more.
Cristiano Ronaldo clocks in at #2 ($105 million) and Lionel Messi is #3 ($104 million) ... but Forbes points out their take would have been higher if not for the coronavirus pandemic.
"The two soccer icons earned a combined $209 million during the past 12 months, a $28 million drop from 2019, due to salary reductions at many European soccer clubs when league play was halted in March," Forbes says.
Might not be a big deal to you ... but we know some athletes take the Forbes list VERY seriously -- remember when Conor McGregor told Ronaldo to his face that he was coming for that top spot?!
Rounding out the Top 5 is Neymar ($95.5 M) followed by LeBron James ($88.2 M).
Other notable athletes include Tiger Woods at #8 ($62.3 mil), Carson Wentz at #10 ($59.1 mil), Conor McGregor at #16 ($48 mil), Tom Brady at #21 ($45 mil) and Naomi Osaka at #29 ($37.4 mil).
2019 marks the second year in a row Floyd Mayweather's failed to make the list ... after being the highest-paid athlete of the decade.
Then again, he hasn't fought in years.
