Athletes Who Made More Money From Endorsements Than Their Contracts in 2020

Professional athletes rake in impressive amounts of money. How many times have you felt your jaw drop after reading a headline of a player signing a nine-figure contract?

However, many of the highest-profile athletes make as much money, or more, through endorsements. Companies are willing to pay — and pay huge– to be associated with big-name sports stars.

That’s a smart move for the athletes, considering how short their careers can be. The average NBA career, for instance, is just 4 1/2 years. That’s not much time for earning potential, so it’s no wonder athletes try to cash in on the endorsements while they can.

Looking at Forbes’ 2020 Highest-Paid Athletes list, GOBankingRates found the athletes who made more from endorsements than their salary/winnings in the sport. The athletes are ranked based on the percentage of their total earnings that came from endorsement money — from lowest to highest.

Some athletes’ endorsement money dwarfs what they receive in salaries or winnings. Read on to see 16 sports stars who made way more from endorsements this year.

Last updated: Nov. 6, 2020

• Sport: Basketball
• Team: Brooklyn Nets
• Total earnings: $63,900,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $35,000,000
• Earnings from salary: $28,900,000
• Percent of total earnings coming from endorsements: 54.77%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: Degree, Master & Dynamic, Nike, YouTube

• Sport: Golf
• Total earnings: $52,000,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $30,000,000
• Earnings from winnings: $22,000,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 57.69%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: Nike, Omega, TaylorMade, UnitedHealth Group, Upper Deck

• Sport: Basketball
• Team: Milwaukee Bucks
• Total earnings: $47,600,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $28,000,000
• Earnings from salary: $19,600,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 58.82%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: 2K Sports, Hulu, Nike

• Sport: Basketball
• Team: Golden State Warriors
• Total earnings: $74,400,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $44,000,000
• Earnings from salary: $30,400,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 59.14%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: Callaway Golf, Chase, Fanatics, Under Armour

• Sport: Tennis
• Total earnings: $40,000,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $26,000,000
• Earnings from winnings: $14,000,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 65%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: Babolat, KIA Motors, Nike, Richard Mille, Santandar, Telefonica

• Sport: Basketball
• Team: Los Angeles Lakers
• Total earnings: $88,200,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $60,000,000
• Earnings from salary: $28,200,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 68.03%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: 2K Sports, AT&T, Beats Electronics, Coca-Cola, GMC, Kia Motors, Nike, RIMOWA, Walmart

• Sport: Tennis
• Total earnings: $44,600,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $32,000,000
• Earnings from winnings: $12,600,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 71.75%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: Asics, Head, Lacoste, NetJets, Peugeot, Seiko Watch Corp., Ultimate Software Group

• Sport: Basketball
• Team: New Orleans Pelicans
• Total earnings: $27,300,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $20,000,000
• Earnings from salary: $7,300,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 73.26%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: 2K Sports, Fanatics, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Nike, Panini

• Sport: Tennis
• Total earnings: $36,000,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $32,000,000
• Earnings from winnings: $4,000,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 88.89%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: Audemars Piguet, Beats Electronics, Bumble, Gatorade, JPMorgan Chase, Nike, Upper Deck, Wilson Sporting Goods

• Sport: Tennis
• Total earnings: $37,400,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $34,000,000
• Earnings from winnings: $3,400,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 90.91%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: All Nippon Airways, Bodyarmor SuperDrink, Mastercard, Nike, Nissan Motor Co., Nissin Foods Holdings, Procter & Gamble, Shiseido, Yonex

• Sport: Cricket
• Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore
• Total earnings: $26,000,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $24,000,000
• Earnings from salary: $2,000,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 92.31%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: Audi, Colgate-Palmolive, Flipkart, Google, Hero MotoCorp, Puma, Uber, Valvoline

• Sport: Tennis
• Total earnings: $106,300,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $100,000,000
• Earnings from winnings: $6,300,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 94.07%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: Barilla, Credit Suisse Group (ADS), Mercedes-Benz, Rolex, Uniqlo, Wilson Sporting Goods

• Sport: Golf
• Total earnings: $27,600,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $26,000,000
• Earnings from winnings: $1,600,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 94.20%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: AT&T, NetJets, Rolex, Titleist, Under Armour

• Sport: Golf
• Total earnings: $62,300,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $60,000,000
• Earnings from winnings: $2,300,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 96.31%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: Bridgestone, Discovery, Hero MotoCorp, Monster Energy, Nike, Rolex, TaylorMade, Upper Deck

• Sport: Tennis
• Total earnings: $32,100,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $31,000,000
• Earnings from winnings: $1,100,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 96.57%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: Asahi Group Holdings, Jaccs, Jaguar, Japan Airlines, Nike, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, Nissin Foods, Uber, Uniqlo

• Sport: Golf
• Total earnings: $40,800,000
• Earnings from endorsements: $40,000,000
• Earnings from winnings: $800,000
• Percent of total earnings from endorsements: 98.04%
• Top sponsors/endorsements: Amgen, Callaway Golf, Heineken N.V., Intrepid Financial Partners, KPMG, Rolex

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Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates looked at Forbes’ 2020 Highest-Paid Athletes list to find all instances where an athlete made more from their endorsements than their salary/winnings. GOBankingRates found 16 athletes who met this criteria and found the following information for each: (1) athlete name; (2) ranking within the Forbes list; (3) sport played by the athlete; (4) the team the athlete played for (where applicable); (5) total earnings for 2020; (6) earnings from endorsements in 2020; (7) earnings from salary/winnings in 2020; and (8) percent of total earnings derived from endorsements. All data was collected on and up to date as of Oct. 27, 2020.