It is a universally known fact that Swiss maestro Roger Federer and New York City go back a long way. Federer first visited NYC at the age of 18 in 1999 when he played the US Open that year in the men’s singles qualifying event. Although he did not have a good memory of that tournament, it seems like NYC was love at first sight for Federer.
The United States is one of the biggest financial and media markets in the world and at the heart of it is NYC. The city has played a huge role in making Roger Federer arguably the most marketable tennis player of all-time, at par or even beyond the likes of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Michael Schumacher and so on. Recently, Federer shot another commercial in NYC for the Japanese apparel brand, Uniqlo. This tryst actually began with his US Open successes.
The Federer-New York City relationship over the years
The early 2000s saw a major transition in tennis as the era of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi dominating the men’s game was coming to an end. The game needed a new face to show to its fans and the world. It was widely believed that an American should succeed them and Andy Roddick was in the top 5 of the ATP rankings, having won the 2003 US Open title.
However, the phenomenon called Roger Federer actually arrived in 2004 and he won his first title at Flushing Meadows. Fans in NYC eagerly awaited to watch this rising star who had already taken London and Melbourne by storm. And they were not at all disappointed despite the fact that he isn’t an American. His elegant and suave personality coupled with a style of play never seen before in terms of versatility and effortlessness, made him win many hearts.
It also helped that Federer was already ‘loudly’ endorsing two US-based brands, Nike and Wilson. It could be fair to say that it established an image which people could relate to permanently, a visual which made New Yorkers proud. Besides those brands, Federer also went to sign famous sponsorship deals with Procter and Gamble’s men’s personal grooming brand Gillette and Berkshire Hathway’s NetJets, which is the world’s largest private jets company.
The following year, in 2005, after winning back-to-back US Open titles, Federer announced that he was auctioning his Wilson racquet for financially supporting victims of the Hurricane Katrina, which shook the United States at large. This humanitarian gesture arguably Federer the colossal favorite amongst American sports lovers.
Roger Federer would go on to win in 2006, 2007 and 2008 as well, which made him the first and only player till date to win the tournament in 5 consecutive years. Although Pete Sampras had won the US Open 5 times too, the New York crowd had never witnessed such command on the tournament from any player before. The fact that Federer looks classy, speaks English eloquently as well as is gracious towards the crowd and his opponents alike, made him warm up to people easily. A person who is a public’s darling is naturally a marketer’s delight too.
There is no doubt that Roger Federer has earned in many millions from the US market, making him realize its value even more now that he is with Uniqlo. Federer has used his brand value and acting skills to feature in Uniqlo’s multiple commercials featuring NYC since the last 5 years.
In 2023 alone, Federer has been to NYC twice already. His first visit was at the iconic Met Gala event and a day prior to that, he posted a picture of eating a hamburger at a famous burger joint, which made fans delirious and curious enough to guess the correct place. Besides that, he was recently seen interacting with New Yorkers outside the city’s largest Uniqlo store as part of the superstar’s global tour for the brand where he will be visiting some of the most iconic cities in the world.
We love NYC because it is one of the greatest cities in the world with some of the best tennis fans! Together, let’s join @rogerfederer as he explores New York City in his newest video series, “24 hours with Roger: NEW YORK”.
Find all the episodes at https://t.co/aP3r4GhCHW pic.twitter.com/toyNPwJQLo— UNIQLO (@UniqloUSA) July 17, 2023
Roger Federer net worth and off-court earnings
It is believed that Roger Federer’s deal with Nike was at $10-12 million per year especially when he began winning Grand Slams like the US Open frequently. If all sponsorship bonuses and royalties from Federer merchandise sales are included, then it is very likely that the Swiss superstar earned more than $500 million in his career from the American sports apparel giant alone.
However, Roger Federer pulled off two business masterstrokes towards the end of his career. Firstly, he ensured that the deal he signed with Uniqlo is 3 times the amount Nike paid him, which will last till 2028 surely. It means that Federer would earn $300 million excluding royalties and bonuses by the end of the contract. Secondly, he signed an equity deal with the brand ‘On’, which specializes in running shoes, owning 3% of the company and also being its brand ambassador, fetching Federer another $300 million.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion is the only tennis player in an elite group of athletes to have crossed $1 billion when it comes to earnings from outside the game. Despite factors such as Covid-19 and reduced appearances on the ATP Tour in recent years, the tennis legend earned a whopping $91 million between 2021 and 2022 thanks to his other brand endorsements. $18 million of those came from Swiss watch brand, Rolex alone as he is set to earn $9 million a year till 2026.
Some of the other brands he endorses are Lindt, Credit Suisse, Barilla, Mercedes-Benz, Moet & Chandon and Switzerland Tourism amongst others. He also has multiple houses in Zurich and Dubai respectively. As a result, the Roger Federer net worth figure could well be above $600 million currently (if estimates and currency fluctuations are taken into account).
