Roger Federer Is the King of Athlete Endorsements

When the defending champion Roger Federer stepped on the Center Court at Wimbledon for his first round match on Monday, many spectators had to look twice before realizing it was indeed the 36-year-old Swiss stepping onto the court. It wasn’t a new haircut or a beard that threw them off, but Federer’s unfamiliar outfit: for the first time in his professional career, the Swiss maestro wasn’t dressed in Nike. Instead Federer wore gear made by the Japanese brand Uniqlo.

To insiders the switch to Uniqlo didn’t come as a total surprise, because it was well-known that Federer’s Nike contract had expired in March. However, he still wore his Nike gear in the Wimbledon warm-up tournaments of Halle and Stuttgart as well as in training in London, so many had assumed that a deal had been reached after all. Apparently it hasn’t and Uniqlo decided to reveal its surprise coup at Tennis’ biggest stage: Wimbledon.

According to industry chatter, the 10-year Uniqlo deal is worth $30 million a year to Federer, which is probably unprecedented for an athlete at Federer’s age and stage in his career. However, thanks to his sustained success and his flawless demeanor off and (mostly) on the tennis court, Federer is almost universally beloved, which is probably why Uniqlo (and many other companies) decided to sign him regardless of his age. As the following chart illustrates, no other athlete made more money with endorsement deals over the past year than Federer did. According to Forbes, his partnerships with companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Rolex, Moet & Chandon, Jura, Wilson and others netted him $65 million in the 12 months ending June 1, 2018, dwarfing his prize money earnings of $12.2 million over the same period.

Sports Endorsement Infographic

Premier League Shirt Sponsors Dominated By Betting Companies

Source: Statista

If you’ve watched a Premier League game on TV in the UK over the last few years you will have undoubtedly been met with such phrases as ‘bet in play now’, ‘latest live odds’ or ‘£50 free bet’ during the half-time break. Gambling has of course always gone hand in hand with sport but the rise and development of modern betting culture in football has been particularly interesting to observe.

Even when the game is running, viewers are exposed to the advertising efforts of gambling firms looking to gain an edge in this fiercely competitive market. In recent years, one avenue exploited more and more has been shirt sponsorship. Behind only perhaps the renaming of a stadium, the centre of a teams jersey is prime advertising real estate. As the infographic below shows, in the current 2016/17 season, exactly half of the teams in the Premier League have a main shirt sponsor from the gambling industry – back in 2013/14, this stood at 15 percent, and in the previous year 25.

This chart shows the share of Premier League teams with a shirt sponsor from the gambling industry:

Infographic: Premier League Shirt Sponsors Dominated By Betting Companies | Statista
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