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The top 37
There is something about the money paid to athletes that fascinates us. Why are they paid so much? Shouldn’t they be playing for the love of their sport? Playing is fun, and fun should be free. Besides, our parents say that if their sports heroes played for next to nothing, so too should their children’s.
So it was with considerable interest that I opened up the recent Forbes magazine survey of the top 37 athletes of 2020, ranked by earnings. (I don’t know how they came up with the number 37; maybe the research budget didn’t extend to listing 40 or 50).
With as much public disclosure as there already is, I suppose I shouldn’t have been shocked at what I found, but I was. At the top of the list was that grizzled veteran, the Swiss tennis player Roger Federer. He made $6.3 million from playing tennis—a tidy sum that would comfortably feed and house him and his family and entourage for the year. By contrast, your average Fortune 500 chief executive earns $14.8 million; so if you want to pick on anyone for being overpaid, pick on the corporate people.
But we’re not finished with Roger Federer. On top of his tennis earnings, he earns a little extra from endorsements. Like $100 million extra—sixteen times his winnings. No wonder he still plays tennis. So long as he shows up at tournaments and plays the distinguished gentleman—a role I admit he is very good at; it may even reflect his genuine nature— and makes a valiant effort, the crowds go home happy and he keeps the engine of the endorsement machine stoked. Endorsements are the professional athlete’s well that keeps drawing water.
Tiger Woods is another example. He took home just over $2 million in winnings last year, but $60 million in endorsements. By contrast, 37th ranked football player Grady Jarrett took home a far bigger sporting haul than Mr. Federer—$33 million, to be exact—but made only $5,000 in endorsements. (I wonder if his uncle owns a pizza parlour that he lends his name to). I bet he would be prepared to switch his salary with Mr. Federer for Mr. Federer’s endorsements.
The fact is that if you reach iconic status in your sport, the sky is the limit for your endorsement potential. But the risks are great. You could get kneecapped by some indiscretion that turns your reputation to ashes and causes the companies whose product you are endorsing to drop you faster than you can say the word “toxic”, Tiger Woods being the exception that proves the rule. Or you could literally get kneecapped and your career could be cut short. So who’s to criticize athletes for making endorsement hay while the sun is shining on them?
Are there some sports that bring in more earnings than others? Good question. The largest number comes from the basketball world. They take up 10 of the 37 spaces, and account for $526 million of aggregate earnings. Next comes football, with seven players making a total of $334 million. Soccer has fewer representatives—five—but they collectively pull in a second best $372 million. Tennis also has five members, Mr. Federer included, who account for $263 million. So too do boxing and mixed martial arts (which I have lumped together, although purists would no doubt vilify me for doing so), coming in at $235 million. Bringing up the rear, so to speak, are golf with three members collectively bringing in $155 million, and auto racing with two members at $90 million.
So the target is obvious. If you want your children to be rich through sports, grow them to be basketball players. Make sure they get lots of Shreddies and grow to a commanding stature. Ensure that their arms, chests and necks are festooned with tattoos. Basketball is a low-overhead sport, so more money can go directly to the athletes—no equipment beyond a few inflated balls and a court. No large 53-person roster to dilute the income and to haul around the country like football teams have to carry: the NBA makes do with a 15-person squad.
Failing a basketball career, soccer and football are the next best sports in which to become a superstar. And if you’re a woman, go for tennis: the only two women on the list were Naomi Osaka ($37 million) and Serena Williams ($36 million).
But where, you might well ask, are baseball and hockey? Baseball outlawed chewing tobacco several years ago, so you would think it has money left over to pay its players more. But perhaps fan interest is declining. The game, compared to basketball, is too slow-paced and takes too long. Hockey? Well maybe if hockey promoted itself as part of the mixed martial arts and boxing duo, it could rise in the standings. Maybe it’s because there are no giants any more. Connor McDavid may be a great player, but he is no match for Wayne Gretzky in his prime. Mind you, I don’t feel sorry for the stick sports. The average annual salary in major league baseball is over $4 million, and in the NHL it is over $3 million. Chump change to the Top 37, but princely sums to those who earn an average wage.
I’m sure the top 37 are still playing for the love of the sport. However, it helps that they can also love the money that goes with it—especially from endorsements.
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