Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes contract could make him one of 10 highest paid sports stars
After many months of wrangling, Lewis Hamilton finally looks set to sign on the dotted line for a new £120m ($187.8m) contract with Mercedes.
Hamilton's new deal with the Formula 1 team worth £40m a year over three years will make him the highest-paid driver in the sport and catapult him into the world's top 10 highest-paid sportsmen.
Hamilton is expected to announce the new contract at the Monaco Grand Prix on 21 May.
The reigning F1 Champion is already the richest British sportsman, with the Sunday Times Rich List estimating he has a net worth of £88m – a 29.4 per cent jump on the £68m he was worth in 2014.
If the reported figures on his new deal are correct, Hamilton will double his annual pay packet, sending his earnings soaring past rival Fernando Alonso and a host of other sports stars including the Premier League's highest paid player Radamel Falcao.
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Hamilton was ranked the 19th highest paid sports star by Forbes last year, yet the new deal would almost certainly see him move above athletes such as Neymar, Novak Djokovic and Derrick Rose.
On top his lucrative contract, Hamilton makes around £2m a year from sponsorship deals which include watchmakers IWC and transportation company Bombardier. Unlike many other super-rich sportsmen, Hamilton gets to keep 100 per cent of his money by virtue of making tax-free haven Monaco his home.
Is Britain's only double world champion worth such a big pay packet? He is rumoured to have firmly fought his corner for the agreement – as well as other details such as being able to keep his trophies himself rather than have them paraded at Mercedes' headquarters.
Yet Hamilton is arguing from a position of strength. As well as a dominant Championship winning performance last season (which looks likely to be replicated this year), the first black driver in F1 is one of the most widely recognised and marketable figures in the sport.
Sports marketing researchers Repucom claimed he was the fourth-most marketable figure in the sport. Hamilton has over 3m "likes" on Facebook (Fernando Alonso has 1.6m) and 2.74m followers on Twitter.