Two week ago, Sports Illustrated published an article titled "The Fortunate 50", which list the fifty highest-paid U.S. athletes. The article calculates weath by adding the athletes salary / winning with its endorsement value to get the athlete's total worth.
After looking at these numbers, I easily see where American monetary priorities are - we love our entertainers. I understand this is capitalism. Few people can do what Tiger and Andre do, so they demand big bucks, and any educated person can be a teacher, nurse, trash collector, or cop. It just doesn't seem right...
Here are the top ten of the Fortunate 50. Also, I've list the top ten U.S. Athletes who give back to the community. Check out the the July 4 Sports Illustrated or click Sports Illustrated.
The Thurstons
1. Tiger Woods: $86,370,407 (Salary/Winnings: 6,370,407 - Endorsements: $80million).
2. Andre Agassi: $45,500,000 (S/W: $1,177,254 - E: $44.5million).
3. Shaquille O'Neal: $41,696,429 (S/W: $27,696,429 - E: $14million).
4. Oscar De La Hoya: $40million (S/W: $38million - E: $2million).
5. Michael Vick: $37.1million (S/W: $30million - E: $7million).
6. Kevin Garnett: $30million (S/W: $23million - E: $7million).
7. Peyton Manning: $29,665,000 (S/W $19,165,000 - E: $10.5million).
8. LeBron Jamaes: $28,320,360 (S/W: $4,320,369 - E: $24million).
9. Phil Mickelson: $27,384,823 (S/W: $6,384,823 - E: $21million).
10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: $27,201,380 (S/W: $7,201,380 - E: $20million).
The Gates
1. Andre Agassi - Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation - $11,044,106.
2. Lance Armstrong - Lance Armstrong Foundation - $5,280,426.
3. Tiger Woods - Tiger Woods Foundation - $1,519,999.
4. Mario Lemieux - Mario Lemieux Foundation - $997,190.
5. Derek Jeter - Turn 2 Foundations - $742,313.
6. Alonzo Mourning - Alonzo Mourning Charities - $715,864.
7. Jeff Gordon - Jeff Gordon Foundation - $573,850.
8. Val Skinner - Val Skinner Foundation - $518,646.
9. Doug Flutie - Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation - $457,998.
10. Mike Hampton - Mike Hampton Pitching-In Foundation - $433,732.
5 comments:
It seems significant to me that eight of the top ten most charitable sports figures do not appear in the top ten best paid. Or rather that eight of the top ten best paid do not appear in the top ten most charitable. Hmm.
-Alexis
all i can say is that tiger woods has one hell of an agent to have 80 million in endorsements for one year he lost his #1 ranking in golf.
Tiger has one heck of an agent because he recieved 80 mil in endorsements while only playing in a handful of events last season, he lost the #1 world ranking, was second on the money list, and didnt win player of the year. So basically he had one of his worst seasons ever and still got paid out the wa-hoo.
Thats an interesting point Alexis. Lance Armstrong is 28th, netting $17,500,000. Mario Lemieux isn't on the list; however, he is also a retired player. Derek Jeter is 12th, netting $25,650,000. Alonzo Morning isn't on the list; however, this was his first season back after a fight with kidney disease. Jeff Gordon is 19th, netting $21,437,660. Val Skinner, Doug Flutie, and Mike Hampton are also not on the list.
It seems that all those not on the list are either veteran or retired players, so they probably already have an established charitable foundation.
This is only a "who made the most money this year list". It is not a total wealth list. Perhaps, in the big picture, the people on the most charitable list, ultimately have more overall money, than the people who happen to make the list this year.
For those who don't think the pro-athelete thing will pan out for them, check out:
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Custom/MSN/CareerAdvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=472&sc_cmp1=JS_472_jshublead&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=6cb50ef6aa9b4dc4a867d2afdf78c90a-176032191-rc-1
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