[Forbes] 2007 25 Top Money-Earning Athletes (Yao 17th)

http://www.forbes.com/business/2007/10/25/sports-tiger-woods-biz-sports-cz_kb_1026athletes.html

The World's Top-Earning Athletes
Kurt Badenhausen 10.26.07, 6:00 AM ET

Tiger Woods left his competitors on the golf course gasping for air this year with seven victories in only 16 tournaments, including four wins in his last five events.

His scoring average of 67.8 was 1.5 strokes better than the second place finisher, Ernie Els. For perspective on how big a gap that is on the PGA Tour, 1.5 strokes was also the difference between No. 2 Els and the 88th-ranked player in scoring average.

But for all his domination on the links, Woods' prowess off the course might have been even more impressive.

When we looked at the highest-paid athletes in the world three years ago, Tiger Woods narrowly topped the list ahead of German Formula One legend Michael Schumacher. Today, Woods still sits on top--and no one is even close.

Woods earned $100 million in the 12 month period ending June 2007. That is the most an athlete has ever made in one year. Woods banked $13 million in prize money and $87 million from endorsements and appearance fees. His take was more than twice the amount earned by the second highest-paid athlete, pugilist Oscar De La Hoya. The "Golden Boy" pocketed $43 million from his May fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

One big shift on this year's list is the presence of athletes from outside the U.S. Only three of the highest-paid athletes were from outside the U.S. in 2004. This year that numbered tripled to nine athletes, led by Finnish Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen, who earned $40 million and ranked fourth overall.

Other international notables: British soccer star David Beckham, ranked sixth with $33 million; Brazil's Ronaldinho, tied for ninth with $31 million; Valentino Rossi, the Italian motorcycling champ, who raked in $30 million, placing him at No. 11; and Yao Ming, China's most famous export, who banked $26.3 million in the NBA. He was 17th overall.

Our list represents both the young and old. Tennis star Maria Sharapova can’t legally buy a drink at 20 years old, but she can certainly afford it on her $23 million income last year. Sharapova ranked 25th, and is the sole woman on the list (no women made the list in 2004).

On the other end of the spectrum is 78-year old golfing legend Arnold Palmer. Despite retiring from competitive golf last year, Palmer still earned $25 million from sponsors like Callaway, Rayovac and Rolex.

Woods doesn't show any sign of slowing down either. Off the course, he extended his contract with Nike at the end of last year. The Swoosh has been writing Woods his biggest paychecks since he turned pro in 1996 (a grand total of more than $150 million). The new deal should be worth more than $25 million a year for Woods, including royalties.

He recently signed a five-year deal with PepsiCo's Gatorade--it's valued at a reported $100 million, which would be by far the largest beverage deal ever for an athlete.

On the course, Woods continues to out-drive his competitors in earnings. He just picked up $10 million for his retirement account by winning the PGA Tour's inaugural FedEx Cup. His career prize money stands at $77 million, 42% higher than second-ranked Vijay Singh, No. 18 on our list. Over the course of his career, Woods has earned $650 million in endorsements and prize money, and at this rate, should become the first athlete to cross the $1 billion threshold by 2010.

The minimum earnings to make our list of the 25 highest-paid athletes was $23 million this year, up from $19 million three years ago. These athletes earned $813 million cumulatively. Basketball was the best represented sport with seven NBA players making the cut, led by Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant, who earned $32.9 million and ranked seventh overall--just one spot ahead of his nemesis Shaquille O’Neal.

Despite its role as the richest U.S. sports league, only two NFL players made the cut: Leonard Davis from the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints' Reggie Bush. Blame the league's strict salary cap, which keeps football stars from being paid as much as their counterparts in basketball and baseball--plus, those pesky helmets keep most NFL stars from being well recognized, except pitchman extraordinaire Peyton Manning, who just missed our list.


1. Tiger Woods
Earnings: $100 million
Sport: Golf
Nationality: American
Born: December 30, 1975

As the face of Nike Golf, Woods has helped create a brand with $600 million in annual revenue for Phil Knight's company. No wonder they named a building for Woods on the Nike campus.

2. Oscar De La Hoya
Earnings: $43.0 million
Sport: Boxing
Nationality: American
Born: February 4, 1973

The Golden Boy has been the biggest draw in boxing over his long career. Revenues for his 18 pay-per-view fights totaled $612 million, the most in boxing history.

3. Phil Mickelson
Earnings: $42.2 million
Sport: Golf
Nationality: American
Born: June 16, 1970

Phil the Thrill's income has surged in recent years as sponsors look for an alternative to Tiger in the golf sponsorship game. Callaway, Ford and Bearing Point write Mickelson his biggest checks.

4. Kimi Raikkonen
Earnings: $40 million
Sport: Auto racing
Nationality: Finish
Born: October 17, 1979

Ferrari made Raikkonen the highest-paid driver in motor sports last year when they gave the Finn a 3-year deal. Raikkonen delivered this year when he clinched the Formula One championship earlier this month.

5. Michael Schumacher
Earnings: $36 million
Sport: Auto racing
Nationality: Germany
Born: January 3, 1969

Formula One's greatest driver retired last year after dominating the sport for 15 years and winning seven championships. During his career, Schumacher earned $650 million in salary and endorsements.

6. David Beckham
Earnings: $33 million
Sport: Soccer
Nationality: British
Born: May 2, 1975

Becks invaded America this year greeted by much fanfare, but injuries kept him off the pitch for most of the MLS season. The bulk of Beckham's income is derived from sponsors like Adidas, Motorola and PepsiCo.

7. Kobe Bryant
Earnings: $32.9 million
Sport: Basketball
Nationality: American
Born: August 23, 1978

The possibility of the Los Angeles Lakers trading Bryant promises to be one of the biggest stories of the NBA season. Bryant will have a say where he goes, as he possesses the league's only full no-trade clause.

8. Shaquille O'Neal
Earnings: $31.9 million
Sport: Basketball
Nationality: American
Born: March 6, 1972

Injuries caused the Diesel to average career lows in points and rebounds last season. Injured or not, the Miami Heat still owes Shaq $60 million over the next three years.

9. (tie) Michael Jordan
Earnings: $31 million
Sport: Basketball
Nationality: American
Born: February 17, 1963

MJ has been out of the NBA as a player for four years now, but his Jordan brand is still a $500 million a year sales business for Nike. Jordan is back in the league as a minority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.

9. (tie) Ronaldinho
Earnings: $31 million
Sport: Soccer
Nationality: Brazilian
Born: March 21, 1980

The two-time FIFA Player of the Year has lucrative endorsement contracts with EA Sports, Lenovo and PepsiCo, but Nike is his biggest deal. His current contract with the Barcelona club runs through 2010.

11. Valentino Rossi
Earnings: $30 million
Sport: Motorcyling
Nationality: Italian
Born: February 16, 1979

While little known in the U.S., Rossi is a rock star in Europe. He narrowly missed an eighth Grand Prix World Championship this year when he finished second in the overall standings.

12. Alex Rodriguez
Earnings: $29.2 million
Sport: Baseball
Nationality: American
Born: July 27, 1975

The baseball world awaits to see if A-Rod will opt out of the last three years of his current playing contract with $81 million left on it. Rodriguez will get a $1.5 million bonus if, as expected, he receives a third MVP award in November.

13. Roger Federer
Earnings: $29 million
Sport: Tennis
Nationality: Swiss
Born: August 8, 1981

The world's top-ranked player won three Grand Slams this year for a third time in four years. Swiss Post unveiled a Roger Federer stamp in April--the first Swiss stamp ever issued featuring a living person.

14. Derek Jeter
Earnings: $28.3 million
Sport: Baseball
Nationality: American
Born: June 26, 1974

The Yankee captain has three years left on the 10-year, $189 million contract he signed in 2001. A-Rod is the only athlete to have ever signed a bigger deal. His cologne, Driven, launched last year, and has been a big hit for Avon.

15. LeBron James
Earnings: $27.3 million
Sport: Basketball
Nationality: American
Born: December 30, 1984

James' income is headed up, way up. He's in the first year of a new four-year, $60 million contract and he has several potential endorsement deals in the pipeline that could send his total income to $40 million next year.

16. Floyd Mayweather
Earnings: $26.5 million
Sport: Boxing
Nationality: American
Born: February 24, 1977

His May fight with Oscar De La Hoya broke several records, including pay-per-view audience (2.2 million), pay-per-view revenues ($120 million) and gate receipts for a boxing match ($19 million).

17. Yao Ming
Earnings: $26.3 million
Sport: Basketball
Nationality: Chinese
Born: September 12, 1980

After several years on the sidelines, Reebok is finally putting Yao to use in its advertising for the brand. The Houston center's other big deals include China Unicom, Garmin and Upper Deck.

18. Vijay Singh
Earnings: $25.8 million
Sport: Golf
Nationality: Fijian
Born: February 22, 1963

Singh is the only player other than Tiger Woods to lead the PGA Tour in annual earnings since 1999. His $10.9 million tally in 2004 is still a Tour record. Singh's 19 tournament wins after age 40 are also a record.

19. Leonard Davis
Earnings: $25.4 million
Sport: Football
Nationality: American
September 5, 1978

The 354-pound guard signed a 7-year, $50 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys in March to anchor their offensive line. The deal included a $16 million signing bonus.

20. Arnold Palmer
Earnings: $25.0 million
Sport: Golf
Nationality: American
Born: September 10, 1929

Palmer's last PGA tournament win was the 1973 Bob Hope Classic, but he continues to be one of golf's most recognizable figures. GQ just named him one of the 50 most stylish men of the past 50 years.

21. Jeff Gordon
Earnings: $24.5 million
Sport: Auto racing
Nationality: American
Born: August 4, 1971

The Rainbow Warrior is on the verge of earning a fifth Nascar Championship. Gordon owns a stake in the car driven by Jimmie Johnson, who won the Championship last year.

22. Kevin Garnett
Earnings: $24.3 million
Sport: Basketball
Nationality: American
Born: May 19, 1976

KG was shipped to the Boston Celtics this summer after 12 seasons in Minnesota. Garnett got a $9 million trade kicker from Boston as part of the deal that will be spread out over the next five years.

23. Reggie Bush
Earnings: $23.8 million
Sport: Football
Nationality: American
Born: March 2, 1985

The Saints signed the Heisman Trophy winner to a six-year contract in 2006 that could be worth as much as $62 million. He racked up another $5 million from endorsements with companies like Adidas, PepsiCo and Subway.

24. Allen Iverson
Earnings: $23.3 million
Sport: Basketball
Nationality: American
Born: June 7, 1975

The Answer was sprung from Philly last year and headed west to the Denver Nuggets in a mid-season trade. He has a lifetime deal with Reebok that paid him around $7 million last year.

25. Maria Sharapova
Earnings: $23 million
Sport: Tennis
Nationality: Russian
Born: April 19, 1987

Injuries have hampered Sharapova this year, but sponsors love the 6-foot-2 Russian. Her impressive list of corporate partners includes Canon, Colgate-Palmolive, Motorola and Nike, among others.

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