Roger Federer is the 7th highest-paid athlete of 2021 with earnings of $90 million, no other tennis player features in top 10

Roger Federer stands in seventh place amongst the world's highest paid athletes of 2020-21, according to Forbes' recently updated rankings. The Swiss, with earnings of about $90 million in sponsorship and prize money, is the only tennis player in the top 10 of the list that looks at earnings of sportspersons between May 2020 and May 2021.

Last year Roger Federer had topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid athletes for the first time in his career, with pre-tax earnings of $106.3 million. Back then he led several elite sportspersons like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Connor McGregor, but this time he is a little lower in the pecking order.

Nearly all of Roger Federer's earnings in 2020-21 came from brand endorsements

Roger Federer has barely played since his surgery

Roger Federer has barely played any tennis over the last 12 months. He underwent double arthroscopic surgery on his knee last year, which put him out of commission for almost the entire 2020 season.

In 2021, Federer has so far played just one tournament - the Qatar Open in Doha - where he lost in the quarterfinals. The 20-time Major champion's absence from the court means he has had very little opportunity to accumulate prize money earnings.

Roger Federer took home a measly $35,060 from his quarterfinal appearance at the Qatar Open. However, he earned a lot of money from his sponsorship deals with brands like Rolex, Credit Suisse, ON and Uniqlo.

The Swiss put his downtime to good commercial use, turning up for advertising gigs with Lindt, Barilla, Mercedes-Benz and Switzerland Tourism in 2020.

Roger Federer earned less than 1% of his annual tally of $90 million from prize money. He is the athlete in the top 10 list to have such an extreme skew in income distribution.

UFC star Connor McGregor, meanwhile, topped the list with earnings of $180 million over the last 12 months. $22 million of that amount came from McGregor's work inside the Octagon.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo occupied the next two spots on the list with overall earnings of $130 million and $120 million respectively.

Here is Forbes' top 10 list of the world's highest-paid athletes in 2020-21, with their professional sport and earnings mentioned as well:

1. Connor McGregor, Mixed Martial Arts, $180 million

2. Lionel Messi, Football, $130 million

3.Cristian Ronaldo, Football, $120 million

4. Dak Prescott, American football, $107.5 million

5. LeBron James, Basketball, $96.5 million

6. Neymar, Football, $95 million

7. Roger Federer, Tennis, $90 million

8. Lewis Hamilton, Formula1, $82 million

9. Tom Brady, American football, $76 million

10. Kevin Durant, Basketball, $75 million