Former world No. 1 and 17-time major winner Roger Federer topped the Forbes Fab 40 list of the world’s most valuable sports brands. Federer has a brand value of $37 million a year, according to Forbes. Brand value is the amount by which an athlete's endorsement income exceeds the average earned by the top 10 players in the same sport during the past year.
Federer’s brand value is higher than NBA basketball player LeBron James ($34 million), golfer Phil Mickelson ($28 million), sprinter Usain Bolt ($25 million), golfer Tiger Woods ($23 million) and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo ($19 million). Last month, Federer was ranked fourth in the the World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2016 list compiled by Forbes, with an income of $67.8 million.
Federer will return to the ATP World Tour at the start of the 2017 season after retiring from the ongoing season owing to injuries and recovery time.