‘Jackpot’ contract with Uniqlo at the age of 37… Even following his retirement, he received support
“Tennis Emperor” Roger Federer (41, Switzerland), who announced his retirement on the 15th, is a player who can be called “emperor” in terms of business acumen.
In the “Tennis Player Earnings Rankings in the Last Year” released by Forbes, an American economic magazine last month, Federer earned $90 million (regarding 120.8 billion won) and ranked first in this category.
He was unable to compete in the tournament for over a year due to a knee injury, but he maintained the top position in the highest income for 17 consecutive years.
He made a huge amount of money only from donations without any prize money from the competition.
Federer, who was praised for playing more beautiful tennis than any other player, showed great talent in commercializing his image and converting it into income.
In particular, Federer’s meticulous entrepreneurial side is revealed in the ‘big deal’ signed with Uniqlo in 2018.
Federer, 37, was out of sponsorship with Nike.
It was practically like being kicked out.
At that time, Nike was saturated with tennis players it sponsors, such as Serena Williams (USA), Rafael Nadal (Spain), Maria Sharapova (Russia), and Nick Kyrios (Australia).
Global sports brands spend less than 10% of their total budget on sponsoring athletes.
It is an ‘unwritten rule’ to protect business soundness.
Nike has decided to ‘exit’ the old Federer in order not to go beyond that.
Federer, who left Nike without saying a word, struck a ‘jackpot’ in which he signed a contract with Uniqlo, which was expanding as a global brand at the time, and received a total of $300 million (regarding 418.8 billion won) for 10 years.
The annual sponsorship received from the previous contract with Nike was $10 million (regarding 13.9 billion won), which was tripled each year.
Federer wasn’t satisfied with getting more money right away.
There is no ‘retirement clause’ in Federer’s contract with Uniqlo.
In other words, Federer made it possible for him to receive the same amount of donations as before, even if he retired during the contract period.
He will leave the court following the Laver Cup, but until he turns 46, he will receive $30 million (regarding 41.9 billion won) from Uniqlo every year, which is more than the average salary of a star-level professional player for the next five years.
This is not the end.
Uniqlo also sells shoes.
However, Federer only signed a “clothing sponsorship” contract with Uniqlo.
Federer, who had been competing in Nike tennis shoes for a while without payment, signed a separate sponsorship contract with a new Swiss brand, On Running, around 2019.
OnLearning did not make a cash contract because it was still small.
Instead, he received a stock option and decided to act as an ambassador.
At that time, Federer secured a 3% stake in the company, but two years later, when OnLearning went public, Federer’s stock value reached $300 million (regarding 418.8 billion won).
As a result, the 37-year-old tennis player who entered the ‘twilight period’ won a total of $600 million worth of sponsorship even following the contract with Nike ended.
Federer, who made an astronomical amount of money with his amazing skills, did many good things with this money.
Federer, who is interested in Africa, has made many donations for children on the continent.
With the money he paid, more than 80 schools were opened.
Federer is said to have spent $15 million on the school project alone.
Federer also donated $1 million to pay for meals for African students whose schools have been closed due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
/yunhap news
