Still good to be Tiger
SI has released their list of the top U.S. money earners for 2007. Of course, Tiger Woods is #1 with his $100M in endorsement money and the regular cast of characters fill out the top 10 (Shaq, Kobe, Mickelson, A-Rod, etc.) but it’s really the middle of the list that is the most interesting.
We spotted two types of athletes in addition to the genuine superstars. First, you have the washed up former superstar that is making a ton of cash on their contracts (thank you stupid GMs!) and practically nothing in endorsements. These are mostly NBA players (Michael Finley, Jalen Rose, Eddie Jones, Steve Fraacis, Grant Hill) but also includes useless baseball player Jason Giambi.
The second anomaly is the overhyped athlete that hasn’t done a damn thing but manages to get into this list by virtue of the great hype machine. Well… it’s just one person actually — Michelle Wie. With only $700k in earnings, she manages to come in at #22 with $19.5M in endorsements. What a joke.
The full list of the Top 50 earning American athletes in 2007 after the jump.
| Salary | Endorsements | Total | ||
| 1. Tiger Woods | $11.9 | $100.0 | $111.9 | |
| 2. Oscar De La Hoya | $53.0 | $2.0 | $55.0 | |
| 3. Phil Mickelson | $4.3 | $47.0 | $51.3 | |
| 4. Shaquille O’Neal | $20.0 | $15.0 | $35.0 | |
| 5. Kobe Bryant | $17.7 | $16.0 | $33.7 | |
| 6. LeBron James | $5.8 | $25.0 | $30.8 | |
| 7. Kevin Garnett | $21.0 | $8.0 | $29.0 | |
| 8. Derek Jeter | $22.0 | $7.0 | $29.0 | |
| 9. Alex Rodriguez | $22.0 | $6.0 | $28.0 | |
| 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. | $7.1 | $20.0 | $27.1 | |
| 11. Allen Iverson | $17.2 | $7.0 | $24.2 | |
| 12. Peyton Manning | $10.0 | $13.0 | $23.0 | |
| 13. Tracy McGrady | $16.9 | $6.0 | $22.9 | |
| 14. Barry Bonds | $20.8 | $2.0 | $22.8 | |
| 15. Roger Clemens | $19.0 | $3.5 | $22.5 | |
| 16. Jeff Gordon | $7.5 | $15.0 | $22.5 | |
| 17. Jason Giambi | $21.5 | $0.5 | $22.0 | |
| 18. Tim Duncan | $17.4 | $3.5 | $20.9 | |
| 19. Michael Finley | $20.1 | $0.5 | $20.6 | |
| 20. Manny Ramirez | $18.0 | $2.5 | $20.5 | |
| 21. Floyd Mayweather Jr | $20.0 | $0.3 | $20.3 | |
| 22. Michelle Wie | $0.7 | $19.5 | $20.2 | |
| 23. Vince Carter | $15.1 | $5.0 | $20.1 | |
| 24. Michael Vick | $13.0 | $7.0 | $20.0 | |
| 25. Jason Kidd | $18.1 | $1.5 | $19.6 | |
| 26. Stephon Marbury | $17.2 | $2.0 | $19.2 | |
| 27. Jermaine O’Neal | $18.1 | $0.8 | $18.9 | |
| 28. Chris Webber | $18.3 | $0.5 | $18.8 | |
| 29. Jalen Rose | $18.4 | $0.3 | $18.7 | |
| 30. Brett Favre | $11.0 | $7.0 | $18.0 | |
| 31. Jimmie Johnson | $15.8 | $2.0 | $17.8 | |
| 32. Baron Davis | $15.1 | $2.5 | $17.6 | |
| 33. Grant Hill | $16.9 | $0.3 | $17.2 | |
| 34. Vince Young | $13.1 | $4.0 | $17.1 | |
| 35. Todd Helton | $16.6 | $0.3 | $16.9 | |
| 36. Ben Wallace | $15.7 | $1.0 | $16.7 | |
| 37. Paul Pierce | $15.1 | $1.5 | $16.6 | |
| 38. Andy Pettitte | $16.0 | $0.5 | $16.5 | |
| 39. Eddie Jones | $15.7 | $0.3 | $16.0 | |
| 40. Dwyane Wade | $3.8 | $12.0 | $15.8 | |
| 41. Jason Schmidt | $15.5 | $0.3 | $15.8 | |
| 42. Shawn Marion | $15.1 | $0.6 | $15.7 | |
| 43. Ray Allen | $14.6 | $1.0 | $15.6 | |
| 44. Albert Pujols | $12.0 | $3.5 | $15.5 | |
| 45. Antawn Jamison | $15.1 | $0.3 | $15.4 | |
| 46. Steve Francis | $15.1 | $0.3 | $15.4 | |
| 47. Tom Brady | $6.0 | $9.0 | $15.0 | |
| 48. Carlos Delgado | $14.5 | $0.5 | $15.0 | |
| 48. Johnny Damon | $13.0 | $2.0 | $15.0 | |
| 50. Amare Stoudemire | $12.5 | $2.5 | $15.0 |
