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Rafael Nadal was recently adjudged the 27th richest athlete in 2020 by Forbes, a list that was topped by his good friend and arch-rival Roger Federer. Federer, with earnings of $106 million from prize money and endorsements, is incidentally the first tennis player ever to top the Forbes list.
The second tennis player in the Forbes list for the year is 23rd-placed Novak Djokovic, who had earnings of $12 million in prize money and $32 million in endorsements - for a total sum of $44 million.
Among tennis players, Rafael Nadal comes in next at 27th place, with total earnings of $40 million (prize money $14 million, endorsements: $26 million).
Two of the next three tennis players behind Rafael Nadal on the Forbes list are Japanese - 29th-placed Naomi Osaka and 40th-placed Kei Nishikori. In fact, Osaka is the highest-earning female athlete in the world, having $37.8 million ($3.4 million in prize money and $34 million in endorsements.)
Purely from an endorsement perspective, Roger Federer ($100 million), Naomi Osaka ($34 million), Novak Djokovic ($32 million), Serena Williams ($32 million) and Kei Nishikori ($31 million) are all ahead of Rafael Nadal ($26 million). While it is understandable that Federer, Djokovic and Williams earned more in sponsorship than Nadal, Osaka and Nishikori being ahead of the Spaniard raises a few eyebrows.
Both Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori are fine players in their own right, but their achievements pale in comparison to those of Rafael Nadal. In fact, the combined Slam tally of the two Japanese players - two - is just a tiny fraction of Nadal's 19.
Brand Rafael Nadal is a lesser sell than Brand Osaka or Brand Nishikori
While Rafael Nadal's achievements on the tennis court are second to none, the stock of Brand Nadal hasn't shone as brightly off the court.
The bulk of Nadal's endorsement earnings came from his deals with Babolat, KIA Motors, Nike, Richard Mille, Santander and Telefónica. Babolat is a French sports equipment company, Kia Motors is in the automobile sector, Nike is a global American footwear player, Richard Mille is a Swiss watch-making company, Banco Santander is a Spanish bank while Telefonica is a Spanish telecommunication provider.
Rafael Nadal earned an estimated annual sum of $10 million from Nike alone, which comprised about 38% of his total endorsement earnings of $26 million last year. The Spaniard has had a more than decade-long deal with the American company, and has recently inked an extension with them.
However, that is considerably less than what Roger Federer made from his deal with Japan's Uniqlo - for a similar product. Federer has a contract of $300 million over 10 years with the Japanese company, which is roughly thrice the size of Nadal's contract.
Uniqlo had a significant role to play in even Kei Nishikori surpassing Rafael Nadal in endorsement earnings last year.
Due to their exploits on the court, Osaka and Nishikori are hugely popular in Japan, where tennis has soared in popularity of late. Thus, it is not surprising that both of them have endorsement deals with a bevvy of Japanese companies.
Naomi Osaka earned a bulk of her $34 million endorsement earnings last year courtesy her deals with All Nippon Airways, BodyArmor, Mastercard, Nike, Nissan Motor, Nissin Foods Holdings, Procter & Gamble, Shiseido and Yonex. Of these companies, All Nippon Airways, Nissan Motor, Nissin Food and Shiseido are all Japanese.
Osaka's stock skyrocketed after she became the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam title when she beat Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open final. And when she added the 2019 Australian Open to her collection, the floodgates well and truly opened up.
Osaka's compatriot Kei Nishikori also earned more in endorsements last year than Rafael Nadal. Despite earning just $1.1 million on the court, the 2014 US Open finalist earned $32.1 million in endorsements.
Like Osaka, Nishikori also has endorsement deals with a plethora of Japanese companies - Asahi Group Holdings, Jaccs, Japan Airlines, Nippon Telegraph & Tel, Nissin Foods Holdings and Uniqlo. The 30-year-old also has deals with Nike and Uber.
The disparity in Rafael Nadal's endorsement earnings and those of Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori can be attributed to the fact that the Spaniard is not the most attractive proposition from a branding point of view in a sport that also has Roger Federer and Serena Williams.
The left-hander's fighting spirit on the court appeals to a lot of people, especially the younger fans, but does not sell as much among the older, richer crowd - at least not the way someone like Federer does. And when it comes to a market like Japan (where purchasing power is among the highest in the world), Nadal doesn't have the nationality card that Nishikori and Osaka do.
In other words, Rafael Nadal is not as marketable as some of the other prominent tennis players today. But that is not a reflection of his on-court success, because there isn't always a direct correlation between performance and endorsement earnings - something that was exemplified by Anna Kournikova many years ago.
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