After the change of supplier Roger Federer cannot complain about the next ten years.
According to Adam Riese and Eva Klein, the deal with clothing manufacturer Uniqlo is expected to earn him 300 million US dollars, i.e. 30 million per year. For comparison: The previous deal with Nike gave “only” 10 million per annum.
Nevertheless, Federer was surprised by the failed negotiations with his long-time supplier Nike, as he admitted in an interview with the New York Times. “We had pretty tough negotiations 10 years ago, 15 years ago, you get used to it. But everything’s okay. We tried to work something out for a year, maybe a little longer – and in my opinion I was within reason.”
Nike obviously had different plans. “Everyone sees it differently,” says Federer. “What you consider your market value need not be what others see. But I’m happy to have somehow been right with the long deal with Uniqulo,” Federer continued. “It’s great for me to sign a long-term contract like this when I’m 37.”
Towards the end of a career, it is often the case that people look at you with a shooting star: beautiful – but soon gone. “It makes me happy that they don’t see me as a falling star – but as someone who is always up there and always shining,” Federer admitted slightly poetically.
After wearing inconspicuous outfits in Wimbledon and at the US Open, people now seem to be looking for new clothes in terms of colour, design and imprints. And how many different outfits you want to see him with. Federer also accepts this pragmatically: “If they only want me in one outfit for the whole year, it will be very easy. But if they want ten, we’ve got a lot to do.”