Is the recession bothering them?

Ranking the 25 highest-earning athletes in the U.S.

By Jonah Freedman, SI.com

Five years ago, Sports Illustrated first set out to find the 50 top-earning American athletes (taking into account on- and off-the-field income). We discovered a few basic facts, and as the Fortunate 50 turns five, some things have remained dead-on consistent:

No one can touch Tiger Woods, the runaway No. 1 for the fifth year in a row. Tiger's near $128 million haul is more than double his closest pursuer, Phil Mickelson at $62.4 million. As usual, hoops dominates the 50: More than half this year's list is made up of NBA players. There are 10 baseball players, seven football players, three NASCAR drivers, three golfers and one boxer -- and yet zero women.

Meanwhile, our International 20 list has seen a huge bump in average paycheck, thanks to the weak American dollar: 12 of the athletes earn their bread in foreign currencies from leagues outside the U.S. In the futures department, we tab the likes of Danica Patrick, Chris Paul and Joba Chamberlain to someday soon make the 50 in our Future Fortunates photo gallery.

As always, we limited our estimates to salary and winnings, endorsements and appearances, and then total. Candidates for the 50 had to be American citizens.
1 Tiger Woods Pro Golf
Last Year's Rank: 1 $22,902,706 $105,000,000 $127,902,706
With close to $800 million in total earnings on and off the course over his 13-year career, Tiger should become the first billion-dollar athlete in the next two years -- and he's still only 32. See Tiger's sponsors.

2 Phil Mickelson Pro Golf Last Year's Rank: 3 $9,372,685 $53,000,000 $62,372,685
Lefty's numbers jump thanks to an extra $2 million in FedEx Cup points in '07 and lucrative appearance fees for his first participation on the Asian Tour in Singapore and Shanghai. See Phil's sponsors.

3 LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) Last Year's Rank: 6 $12,455,000 $28,000,000 $40,455,000
King James has earned $167 million during his five seasons in the NBA, and has his eyes on serious entrepreneurship: He counts billionaire Warren Buffett as a role model and friend.

4 Floyd Mayweather Jr. Boxing Last Year's Rank: 21 $20,000,000 $20,250,000 $40,250,000
It's been a monster year for Pretty Boy, who made $20 million in purse and pay-per-view shares for his fight with Ricky Hatton and another $20 million for his foray into professional wrestling.

5 Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) Last Year's Rank: 5 $19,490,625 $16,000,000 $35,490,625
How's that for a change of tune? He once criticized his teammates; last month Bryant bought each of them $9,000 Swiss watches as a thank you for helping him win his first MVP award.

6 (Tie) Shaquille O'Neal Phoenix Suns (NBA) Last Year's Rank: 4 $20,000,000 $15,000,000 $35,000,000
Shaq finally unloaded his 2.5-acre Miami estate last fall after having it on the market for more than two years. The buyer? Miami-native (and No. 7) A-Rod, for a reported $27 million.

6 (Tie) Alex Rodriguez New York Yankees (MLB) Last Year's Rank: 11 $29,000,000 $6,000,000 $35,000,000
Assuming A-Rod plays out his new mammoth 10-year, $275 million deal, he'll have earned $445 million in base salary alone over the course of what would be a 24-year career.


8 Kevin Garnett Boston Celtics (NBA) Last Year's Rank: 7 $22,000,000 $9,000,000 $31,000,000
KG is the highest-paid of the Celtics' Big Three; at a total of $56.1 million in salary this season, the trio makes up 74 percent of the Eastern Conference champs' entire payroll in '07-08.

9 Peyton Manning Indianapolis Colts (NFL) Last Year's Rank: 12 $17,500,000 $13,000,000 $30,500,000
Hide the Lombardi Trophy. Football's leading endorser is still king of NFL pitchmen, but little bro Eli -- with whom he now regularly shares screen time in TV ads -- is creeping up fast.

10 Derek Jeter New York Yankees (MLB) Last Year's Rank: 8 $22,000,000 $8,000,000 $30,000,000
The Yankee captain cut a deal with the tax man in February that allowed him to avoid paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes on his $13 million Trump World Tower condo.

11 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Auto Racing Last Year's Rank: 10 $5,221,970 $22,000,000 $27,221,970
Maybe try one meeellion next time? Junior laughed off Eddie Gossage's $100,000 offer to race in the IndyCar series, calling him Dr. Evil: "His first estimate ... was a little underfigured."

12 Allen Iverson Denver Nuggets (NBA) Last Year's Rank: 11 $20,109,375 $7,000,000 $27,109,375
The Nuggets are reportedly willing to sign A.I. to a multi-year extension (for less money) if he opts out of the last year of his six-year, $71 million contract -- he'd earn $21.9 million in '08-09.

13 Kevin Durant Seattle SuperSonics (NBA) Last Year's Rank: NR $4,300,000 $21,650,000 $25,950,000
The 2007-08 Rookie of the Year will have to wait three more seasons for a giant contract, but his $7 million-a-year deal with Nike included a $12 million signing bonus.

14 Jeff Gordon Auto Racing Last Year's Rank: 16 $10,926,687 $15,000,000 $25,926,687
Despite a second-place finish in the NASCAR standings, Gordon collected a career-high in racing money in '07: $7.1 million in track winnings and another $3.3 million from the points fund.

15 Ben Roethlisberger Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL) Last Year's Rank: NR $22,700,000 $2,500,000 $25,200,000
It's the gift that keeps on giving. Big Ben rakes in $20.2 million of his $25.2 million signing bonus during calendar-year '08; the rest is due next season, plus a $3 million roster bonus.

16 Dwyane Wade Miami Heat (NBA) Last Year's Rank: 40 $13,041,250 $12,000,000 $25,041,250
D-Wade just raised the bar for sons everywhere: For Mother's Day, the Heat star bought his Baptist pastor mom, Jolinda, her very own church on the South Side of Chicago.

17 Tracy McGrady Houston Rockets (NBA) Last Year's Rank: 13 $19,014,187 $6,000,000 $25,014,187
T-Mac is reportedly looking to graduate from his 18,000-square foot home in suburban Houston, which boasts seven bedrooms, 8½ bathrooms, an elevator, a boat dock and an indoor court.

18 Carmelo Anthony Denver Nuggets (NBA) Last Year's Rank: NR $13,041,250 $9,500,000 $22,541,250
Construction got underway last month on the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center practice facility at Syracuse University, thanks to a $3 million donation from its famous namesake alum.

19 Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs (NBA) Last Year's Rank: 18 $19,014,187 $3,500,000 $22,514,187
Duncan reportedly accepted $10 million less than what he was eligible for in his two-year, $40 million extension signed in October so the Spurs would be able to chase free agents.

20 Manny Ramirez Boston Red Sox (MLB) Last Year's Rank: 20 $20,000,000 $2,500,000 $22,500,000
The World Series champs have a $20 million option on the enigmatic Manny for the '09 season; if they decline it, they'd have to deal with his new agent: infamous hardballer Scott Boras.

21 Michael Finley San Antonio Spurs (NBA) Last Year's Rank: 19 $21,698,750 $500,000 $22,198,750
The only active player who's still under the same contract from 2005's "amnesty clause," Finley earned $18.6 million this season from the Mavericks in addition to $3.1 million from the Spurs.

22 Dwight Howard Orlando Magic (NBA) Last Year's Rank: NR $6,061,273 $15,500,000 $21,561,273
Howard makes his debut thanks to a heavy bonus from his multi-year deal with Adidas; his salary jumps to $13 million next season, the first of his five-year, $85 million extension.

23 Jason Giambi New York Yankees (MLB) Last Year's Rank: 19 $21,000,000 $500,000 $21,500,000
So was he worth all that dough? Giambi, in the final year of his $120 million deal with the Yanks, has never matched his 2000 AL MVP numbers during his seven seasons in pinstripes.

24 Jason Kidd Dallas Mavericks (NBA) Last Year's Rank: 25 $19,728,000 $1,500,000 $21,228,000
Re-acquiring the All-Star point guard gave Mark Cuban the highest payroll in the NBA this past season ($105 million) and puts him on the hook for Kidd's $21.4 million salary next year.

25 Stephon Marbury New York Knicks (NBA) Last Year's Rank: 26 $19,012,500 $2,000,000 $21,012,500
The honeymoon between Steph and his hometown team is long over, but he's a huge asset as a tradeable, expiring contract next season, the last of his four-year, $77 million deal.

How to become poor

10 ways to become (or stay) poor

1. Spend more than you make
Actually if you only do #1, you won’t have to worry about the other 9. This is the easiest way for anyone to become poor. It doesn’t matter if you make millions or hundreds each month, the same principle applies.

2. Lust after what you don’t have

3. Never give to anyone

4. Don’t pay attention to where you money goes
5. Get a loan for everything… cars, a new bedroom set, a vacation ***BONUS: use credit cards with a 25% interest rate!
6. Wait for the perfect time to start saving 7. Follow the crowd
8. Don’t worry about the little things, they don’t really add up 9. Invest your money in things that you know nothing about
10. Waste stuff - money, food, time.