50 Highest paid athletes in America

[MissThickBooty]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/fortunate50-2012/?eref=sihp&sct=hp_t11_a0


Thus explains the struggles of American sprinters

[jazzcyclist]

I don't think distance runners, throwers and jumpers are doing much better than sprinters.

[SevenOf Nine]

It is mainly our American society most of the money comes from baseball, football and basketball. Track and Field has never been really popular in America the mainstream viewer will only know of Marion Jones and Michael Johnson and now Lolo Jones but they don't know about Allyson Felix, Tyson Gay etc. Track still maintain it's prominence in Europe next to soccer it is still considered their most popular sport and that is where most of the money comes in from the sport. The only events that Track and Field gets in America is the Prefontaine Classics and The Penn Relays. It is ashame because I personally believe the best athletes are track and field runners and they deserve a lot more respect for what they contribute to the sport.

[uakari]

i must live in another world.

golfers? car racers???? puke.

[kuha]

The only "surprise" here is that there is absolutely no surprise whatever, not even a little one.

[Master Po]

The only "surprise" here is that there is absolutely no surprise whatever, not even a little one.

Agree in general terms (i.e., the sports represented); but I have to say I was a bit surprised -- probably an indicator of my ignorance more than anything else -- by a few things, starting with the boxer Mayweather as #1 (though the intro to the article explained that). Beyond #1, I was also surprised by some of the football players in this group -- I don't follow all things NFL, but I would never have picked a few of those guys to be in this group. But, there's a lot I don't know and don't understand -- this just adds to it!

[kuha]

Well, honestly, many of the names mean nothing to me--it was the general distribution (basketball, baseball, boxing, etc.) that was surprisingly unsurprising.

[j-a-m]

golfers? car racers????

It's not even obvious whether those guys deserve to be called athletes.

[lonewolf]

I read Sports Illustrated and the sports page (such as it is) and am a semi-informed guy about things sport but I only recognized half of the top 50 earners.. how can athletes I never heard of be earning millions in endorsements? ..not that a celebrity endorsement would influence me to buy any product.

[Michak]

I read Sports Illustrated and the sports page (such as it is) and am a semi-informed guy about things sport but I only recognized half of the top 50 earners.. how can athletes I never heard of be earning millions in endorsements? ..not that a celebrity endorsement would influence me to buy any product.

Most of these athlete make the majority of there money from salary or winning not endorsements. Only the Golf, NASCAR and the more famous basketball players make more money from endorsements then winning or salary.

[GDAWG]

Here are the top 20 highest earners internationally:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specia ... ex.20.html

Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that football (soccer) players take up 8 of the spots.

[TN1965]

Here are the top 20 highest earners internationally:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specia ... ex.20.html

Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that football (soccer) players take up 8 of the spots.

Where is Usain Bolt? How far is he from #20?

[pakillo]

i must live in another world.

golfers? car racers???? puke.

You are not puking alone, PUKE!

[jjk4ever]

I read Sports Illustrated and the sports page (such as it is) and am a semi-informed guy about things sport but I only recognized half of the top 50 earners.. how can athletes I never heard of be earning millions in endorsements? ..not that a celebrity endorsement would influence me to buy any product.

If you live here in the USA, If you watched more TV, even ESPN, you'd recognize most all of these guys---THAT's where alot of the endorsement money is---not in print like SI and newspapers. I can understand (maybe) not recognizing the golfers and race drivers but most everyone else on the list is recognizable to most US sports fans I think.

[kuha]

If you watched more TV you'd recognize most all of these guys

That knowledge isn't remotely worth the cost/psychic damage of watching more TV.

[Daisy]

watching more TV

Does that count as torture?

[GDAWG]

I read Sports Illustrated and the sports page (such as it is) and am a semi-informed guy about things sport but I only recognized half of the top 50 earners.. how can athletes I never heard of be earning millions in endorsements? ..not that a celebrity endorsement would influence me to buy any product.

If you live here in the USA, If you watched more TV, even ESPN, you'd recognize most all of these guys---THAT's where alot of the endorsement money is---not in print like SI and newspapers. I can understand (maybe) not recognizing the golfers and race drivers but most everyone else on the list is recognizable to most US sports fans I think.

A majority of the top 50 are well known in the USA. NFL, being the number one sport in the land gets the most exposure, followed by Major League Baseball and the NBA.

[bad hammy]

As someone who pays mild attention to just one football & baseball team and couldn't care less about basketball, I still recognize almost all of these names. And it is my semi-uneducated guess that no T&F athletes have career earnings as much as the yearly income of #50 ($15.8 mil).