MLB star Shohei Ohtani’s bumper 700 million contract has shaken the sporting world. A financial agreement of this scale has never been witnessed in any sport. Even the combined on-court earnings of tennis legends Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams cannot match these numbers.
Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a mega contract for 10 years for $700 million, the largest in any professional sport. However, he will defer $68 million per season until after the deal ends, to be paid out from 2034 to 2043. Regardless of the structure, the numbers are out of reach of even the highest-earning tennis stars.
No other tennis player has won more prize money than Djokovic. He made $15,936,098 after an incredible 2023 season. This took his total to $180,643,353 for singles and doubles combined. The tennis player with the highest career prize money cannot hold a candle to Ohtani’s on-field earnings following his massive Dodgers contract.
Second and third on the list of most career prize money are Nadal and Federer, respectively. Each has earned over $130 million from on-court winnings throughout their careers, also over two decades long. Combining the Big 3’s prize money, it comes out to a little over $454 million. This amount is from three glittering careers of more than 20 years each. Evidently, over 60 years worth of legendary tennis comes out to about 65% of Ohtani’s new 10-year, $700 million deal.
Adding a fourth superstar to support tennis’ case is not of much help either. Williams is the WTA all-time prize money leader with a $94,816,730 purse. Clubbing this with the Big 3’s sum results in a pool of approximately $550 million. This falls $150 million short of what the pitcher will take home after joining the Dodgers.
The four biggest superstars of tennis, combined, have not earned enough from the sport to match the 10-year MLB contract. This is despite each of them having trophy-laden careers for over two decades. The disparity proves the humongous nature of Ohtani’s contract while also unveiling how much tennis lags behind other sports in financial aspects.
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams worth more than Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani’s contract is designed such that he will received only $2 million annually until 2033. He deferred the remaining $68 million of his yearly payout to receive across 10 years after this deal ends. To put it simply, the Japanese athlete will take home only $20 million during the duration of this contract.
However, he will pocket the remaining $680 million from 2033 to 2043. This arrangement helps the player save on taxes and be better prepared for retirement. It also reduces the load on the Dodgers’ payroll, allowing them to have more funds on hand at a given time.
While his net worth will receive a massive boost when the contract activates, Ohtani is currently worth a modest $50 million (Celebrity Net Worth). He has endorsement deals with New Balance, Hugo Boss, Fanatics, Topps, and many local companies back in Japan. While he may be an attractive entity for marketers, the aforementioned tennis legends continue to be bigger, more global names.
On the other hand, Roger Federer is one of the most marketable and well-known athletes in the world. His net worth is a whopping $550 million and he boasts a wide range of endorsements and investments. He is the face of Uniqlo, an apparel company from Ohtani’s home country, Japan. He counts brands like Rolex, On, Lindt, Mercedes-Benz and Wilson amongst his stable. Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, has a net worth of $323.61 million. His portfolio includes brands such as Nike, Babolat, Kia Motors, Santander, Emperio Armani, Richard Mille, Tommy Hilfiger and Telefonica.
Novak Djokovic, despite leading them in prize money, is worth slightly less. His net worth is $240 million, with Hublot, ANZ bank, Jacob’s Creek, Raiffeisen Bank International, Ultimate Software Group, and Telekom Srbija among his endorsements. Most notably, he is the star ambassador for Lacoste. Serena Williams, on the other hand, is the richest female tennis player with a net worth in the region of $250-300 million. Her biggest sponsors are Nike, Wilson, Subway, Audemars-Piguet, Gatorade, Beats and Berlei.
Despite not earning even remotely in the range of Ohtani’s contract on the court, the tennis legends lead the way in off-court commercial earnings. This shows tennis is truly a global sport with global superstars.
