Hamilton climbs Forbes rich list, Vettel loses endorsements

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are paid the same by their respective teams... but the Mercedes man makes far more annually.
Hamilton climbs Forbes rich list, Vettel loses endorsements

Lewis Hamilton has entered the top ten of Forbes' highest-earning athletes list for the first time in his career having accumulated an annual pay packet of approximately $46 million.

The triple F1 world champion is currently in the midst of a three-year contract with Mercedes, with the deal understood to be valued in the region of $38 million ($30m) per season, excluding endorsements.

Though this doesn't represent an increase year-on-year, Hamilton has nonetheless climbed from 11th to 10th on the list of the world's highest-earning athletes, according to Forbes'.

Hamilton is one of three F1 drivers inside the top 100, with Sebastian Vettel rising from 19th to 14th despite earnings/winnings dropping from $41m to $38m, while Fernando Alonso climbs into the top 20 with annual earnings of $36m.

Significantly, the Forbes list reveals Ferrari pays Vettel the same Mercedes pays Hamilton , but earns only a further $500,000k in endorsements on top of that, compared with Hamilton who gets an additional $8m from the likes of Monster, Bombardier and L'Oreal.

To put into perspective, Vettel is the only athlete in the top 30 to earn $500k or less in endorsements.

The list is topped by footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who receives $58m from Real Madrid before adding a further $35m in endorsements. Roger Federer is the most endorsed athlete competing having accumulated a mammoth $58m worth in the last year.

10. Lewis Hamilton - $46m total ($38m earnings/winnings + $8m endorsements)
14. Sebastian Vettel - $38.5m total) ($38m earnings/winnings + $500k endorsements)
20. Fernando Alonso - $36 total ($34m earnings/winnings + 2m endorsements)

* The list only includes active competitors, thus excluding retired world champion Nico Rosberg


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