Roger Federer overtakes Tiger Woods as overall individual prize money winner
With a win at the Nitto ATP Finals in London this week, Roger Federer has officially passed Tiger Woods as the top career prize money winner in individual sports.
Via Forbes, Federer has earned $110,235,682 for his work on the court, which barely edges out Woods’ $110,061,012. It’s worth noting that Woods hasn’t earned a nickel on the course since 2015, and hasn’t cracked six figures since 2013.
After appearing to head toward the exits, Federer has had a late-career resurgence, and now has won 95 tournaments, including 19 grand slam singles titles. Woods has won 79 tournaments, including 14 majors, but has not won a tournament in four years or a major in almost a decade.
(Note: the Forbes list includes only prize money won in individual tournament play, not purses claimed for one-off events like boxing matches. Floyd Mayweather, with purse earnings of over $1 billion, runs the world in that category. Also, while drivers such as Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have earned more than Federer’s total, those winnings are filtered through a team prior to distribution.)
In terms of overall earnings including sponsorships and other external income, however, Federer remains well behind Woods. As of last year, the most recent estimates put Woods’ total earnings at over $1.65 billion, while Federer has total earnings of “only” $600 million.
Federer holds a slim lead over the No. 2 career earnings leader in tennis, Novak Djokovic, who has earned $109,805,403 over his career. Woods, meanwhile, holds a substantial lead over No. 2 Phil Mickelson, who’s totaled $84,045,437 over the course of his career.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
