Roger Federer is one of only six athletes to cross $1 billion in career earnings while still active.

The part you didn't know?

He left behind a $10 million annual sponsorship deal with Nike and turned it into a $600 million-plus payday.

Here's the wild story 👇

1) Let's start in 2018...

Roger Federer had been with Nike for more than 20+ years, becoming one of the most decorated athletes in sports history with 20 Grand Slam titles.

But when it came time to renew his $10 million annual sponsorship deal with Nike, things got interesting.

2) Nike had a loaded roster of tennis players:

• Serena Williams
• Rafael Nadal
• Maria Sharapova
• Nick Kyrgios

And there is an unwritten rule in the world of sponsorships — you don't spend over 10% of overall revenue on athlete sponsorship deals.

So what would Nike do?

3) Nike ultimately decided to protect their margins, letting the 36-year-old legend walk.

The result: Federer shocked the world, signing a massive 10-year, $300M deal with Uniqlo — or 3x more than the $10M Nike was paying him annually.

But that's only part of the story...

4) Roger Federer's $300 million deal with Uniqlo included two unique stipulations:

First, the agreement didn't have a retirement clause, meaning Federer would earn $30 million at age 46 even if he retired 5 years prior.

Even better?

The deal only covered apparel, not shoes.