Who the hell is Leonard Davis?

I generally don't care how much athletes get paid.  Player salaries are one of the media's often used excuses to bash athletes; fans generally aren't suppose to care are how much an owner profits a year, but they are suppose to know how much a player makes, and if they are "overpaid" or "underpaid".   If I lived in Kansas City, I would personally rather hear about how much the owner pocketed off the team this season.  The same Royals baseball team he under invests in, refusing to shell out the money for the team to improve.  And that's true of pretty much every owner in sports - let's see who the real under investors are... they are the real thieves of your money, if you believe in such a thing.  But that's just me.

However, Forbes just released it's list of the Top 25 Athletes in terms of money grossed last year, and it is a fascinating list.  Where to begin?  At the top, of course.

Tiger Woods once again tops the list, making over $100 million last year.  Most of it comes from his endorsement deal with Nike.  He grossed more than #2 and #3 combined, and is just a human version of the Federal Reserve at this point.  He could buy a professional franchise straight up in cash with just three to five years of earnings.   When you factor in that he's a golfer, his lifetime earnings potential is obscene. 

Tiger is too ill, representing Dollar Hill.  See his face on the twenty dollar bill.  Cash it in, get ten dollars back.

For example, Phil Mickelson is third on the list, mostly due to his endorsements (Ford, Bearing Point).  Even second place golfers are worth big loot.  Vijay Singh?  He's on the list, though, to be fair, his annual winnings actually topped Tiger's last year.  Arnold Palmer came in at #25, despite the fact that he's retired, and hasn't won anything since 1973 except for Bingo.  If Tiger Woods continues making loot like that until he's Arnold's age, he'll easily top a billion dollars made in his life.  

Oscar De La Hoya finished second on the list with $43 million made last year, mostly from his big fight with Floyd Mayweather.  It was advertised as the last great boxing match, and honestly... it's true.   I thought at the time it would be a while before another match came along that would generate as much hype, and it certainly appears we have a wait ahead of us.  The problem with boxing is well documented - heavyweights are too strong, making heavyweight fights too short.  One punch from a heavyweight will knock out the opponent.  Long gone are the Ali-Frazier punchfests of yore.  We now have to look to middleweights (Gatti-Ward) and lightweights, where punching strength is less,  to find exciting fights that can actually live up to the hype.  And, yeah, there's that whole corruption thing, too.

That little rant aside, Floyd Mayweather (who dominated Oscar in that fight) also did well, earning $26.5 million to finish 16th on the list.  So let's not write off boxing just yet... or at least until an UFCer shows up on this list.

Auto racing and international stars did well.  Jeff Gordon finished 21st on the list, but several international racers finished higher.  Speaking of Finnish, at #4 was Kimi Raikkonen,  a Finnish Formula One racer (who has a deal with Ferrari).  German Michael Schumacher was #5.   He's also a Formula One driver, though he retired last year.  The lesson, which is always useful to remember:  there are more rednecks in Europe than you think.  

Soccer stars get loot.  Brit David Beckham was #6, thanks to Adidas, Motorola, Pepsi endorsements, and his new contract with MLS.  Brazilian Ronaldinho tied for 9th, thanks to his deals with Pepsi and Nike.  

At #11 was Valentino Rossi, an Italian motorcycling champ.  In the interests of educating myself and you (though I think Ricky from Sixers4Guidos will have more insight on the topic) I researched him a bit.  He's a 7-time Grand Prix winner who just missed winning an 8th time in 2006 (finishing 2nd).   He once gave his bitter rival the finger as he passed him during a race.

#13 Roger Federer (the only Swiss person ever to appear on a Swiss stamp while still living), and #25 Maria Sharapova (Russian, tennis) are the two tennis players to make the list.  Canon, Colgate, Motorola, and Nike all have deals with the Russian tennis starlet.

Golf might be king, but basketball players remain the best paid team sport athletes in the world.  Kobe Bryant made $32.9m, putting him just ahead of rival Shaq, who grossed $31.9m last season, for 6th and 7th on the list.   Michael Jordan is 8th at $31 million, despite being retired for a few years now.   Lebron James is 15th with $27.3m, a clear sign he does not have enough endorsements.  True Hoops has mentioned on several occasions that since he switched agents, LeBron has not done well in the endorsements deals. 

Three other NBA players made the list:  Yao Ming (#17, $26.3m), Kevin Garnett ($24.3m, mostly from the trade kicker that he got when he got traded to the Celtics), and Allen Iverson, who made $23.3 million.  Reebok pays Iverson $7 million a year, per their lifetime contract with Iverson.

Two baseball players made the list, both Yankees (well, one is soon to be a former Yankee).  A-Rod was #12 ($29.2m), mostly from his famous salary - he doesn't make much by way of endorsements, huh?  Derek Jeter was 14th, with $28.3m earned, helped by revenue from his "Driven" cologne brand. 

And then there is the strange case of the NFL.  If you had asked me which NFL player would make the list, I would have

guess The Notorious Advertising Whore, Peyton Manning.  Or his would-be rival, Tom Brady.  Hell, even Brett Favre would have made sense.

Leonard Davis actually topped the NFL, according to Forbes.  He raked in $25.4m.  Davis is an 6'6, 366 pound offensive tackle with the Cowboys.  I have no explanation for how he made that much, when his endorsement money = $100,000.  I presume his signing bonus is the reason he's getting so much, which might make him an anomaly of sorts, but it's still really interesting to note that he's the highest paid NFL player.  In fact, the only other player to make this year's list is Reggie Bush, who is 23rd with $23.8m (a lot from endorsements).

Leonard freaking Davis?!?

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