Could minted Andy Murray really earn £100m? Federer's quarter of a billion haul shows how tennis earnings can rack up
Andy Murray's victory at the US Open is a landmark for British sport. But it has also been touted as a watershed moment for the Scot's earning power.
His total career earnings, which are £24million so far according to the Sunday Times Rich List, could top £100million, it has been reported today.
That's because the 25-year-old, who yesterday collected £1.2million in prize money, is likely to have sponsors queueing up to pitch for his endorsement of their products.
Murray already has a £15million five-year deal with Adidas, as well as lucrative contracts with Royal Bank of Scotland, Head racquets and Jaguar.
It was also a little distasteful to see Murray scrambling arouBut now, having beaten Roger Federer to win Olympic gold together with his four-hour, 54-minute win over Novak Djokovic, Murray can expect global giants such as Coca-Cola and Visa to step into the bidding frenzy.
But now, having beaten Roger Federer to win Olympic gold together with his four-hour, 54-minute win over Novak Djokovic, Murray can expect global giants such as Coca-Cola and Visa to step into the bidding frenzy.
He has a very shrewd operator handling his negotiations. Having turned down the more established sports agents, in 2009 Murray signed up with none other than Simon Fuller, the man behind the Spice Girls, 'Brand Beckham' and Pop Idol, America's biggest TV show. He said he was 'thrilled' with the victory; his punt paid off.
To put things in perspective, Murray has secured only a single Grand Slam. He remains a long way from emulating the achievement of Fred Perry – the last Briton to see such success, with eight Slams between 1933 and 1936.
In the modern era, Roger Federer, 31, is a legend having secured 17 major tournament titles. His win at Wimbledon this year returned him to the No. 1 ranking in the world, enabling him to set the record for most weeks ranked No. 1 in a career, previously held by Pete Sampras at 286.
So how much has he earned?
According to Forbes, the Swiss has made $241million (£152million) - nearly quarter of a billion dollars - in the past six years alone. That includes a record $54million (£32million) in the most recent year, to July 2012.
Forbes says Federer earned $9.3million (£5.9million) in prize money over the past 12 months and an estimated $45million (£29million) from appearances and sponsors.
The US money magazine said: 'Federer has the most impressive endorsement portfolio of any athlete on the planet. His blue-chip roster of sponsors includes Nike, Rolex, Wilson, Credit Suisse, Gillette, Mercedes-Benz and more. Federer also commands more than $1million per exhibition and is heading to South America at the end of the year for a series of these very lucrative events.'
Federer’s biggest deal is with Nike, which pays him more than $10million (£6.3million) a year. Here's how his earnings have steadily climbed:
$29million in 2007
$35million in 2008
$33million in 2009
$43million in 2010
$47million in 2011
$54miliion in 2012
By way of comparison, Spain’s Rafael Nadal earned $32.4million in the last year. His sponsors include Nike, Bacardi, Kia Motors and Babolat, a sports equipment company that operates outside the UK.
In the Forbes tennis rich list, Nadal is followed by Maria Sharapova at $27million (£17million) and Djokovic at $20million (£13million).
The Spaniard has won 11 Slams, Sharapova has picked up four and Djokovic has five under his belt.
Andy Murray, in contrast, has won one. He will need to build on that success to secure the crown of '£100million man'.
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