V Krishnaswamy: Keeping score in dollars

BIZSPORT

IT'S AN article filled with eye-popping figures. Last week Sports Illustrated published its inaugural list of top 50 American sportspersons ranked in order of current annual income.

Mind you, Sports Illustrated has only looked at salaries, winnings, bonuses, endorsements and appearance fees. Any other cash they earn from investments, be it in business, stocks or elsewhere, those are separate.

Naturally, incomes are an estimate, rather than absolute figures, simply because they have been gathered from a variety of sources ranging from sports associations, tour records, agents, news reports, sports marketing executives and the likes. Yet they make for fascinating reading.

The chart-topper is, of course the superlative Tiger Woods, whose winnings, etc were put at just over $6.67 million. But that's nothing compared to the $70 million a year he earns from endorsements which makes him America's richest sportsman with earnings of $76.67 million a year.

In a year, he makes almost double of what the next man, Shaquille O'Neal makes from basketball. Shaq of the LA Lakers earns $26.52 million from his salaries, bonuses, etc and his endorsements fetch him around $14 million to make a total of just over $40.5 million.

The 50th guy, Michael Finley, a NBA basketballer with the Dallas Mavericks makes $13.28 million and just half a million of that comes from endorsements.

The top 50 is dominated by NBA players "" 24 of them; there are 12 baseball players and there are only four footballers. The remaining ten includes three tennis players, two golfers, two boxers, two auto racers and one cyclist.

There are just two women, Serena ($17.5 million) at No. 23 and Venus Williams ($15.12 million) at No. 41. Of course, only active athletes have been included in this list, or otherwise, the likes of Michael Jordan, Jack Nicklaus who still make a lot from endorsements would surely have made it to the list.

The third tennis player is Andre Agassi ($27 million, including $24.5 million as endorsements) at No. 7. There are two golfers, Tiger and Phil Mickelson ($15.83 million), two boxers, Oscar De Hoya ($32 million, which includes just $2 million from endorsements and appearances) at No. 6, and Roy Jones Jr. ($16 million, including just $1 million from endorsements and appearances) at No. 35.

Lance Armstrong at No. 26 is the only cyclist ($16.5 million from endorsements, etc and just $460,000 from winnings) and Dale Earnhardt Jr (No. 13 with $22.08 million) and Jeff Gordon (No. 21 with $18.62 million) are the two auto racers.

One more interesting nugget: almost 20 per cent of the top 50 list athletes turn out for New York-area teams in NBA or football.

Also this list is absolutely American and does not take into consideration people like Michael Schumacher, who otherwise with $71 million would have been second to Tiger. Also left out are the likes of David Beckham ($30 million).

In the salary/bonuses/ winnings segment, boxer Oscar de La Hoya is the biggest earner with $30 million and just $2 million as endorsements or appearances. While Kevin Garnett ($29 million) and Shaq ($26.5 million) are the real biggies, many others including Kobe Bryant make $13.5 million from earnings. Bryant makes almost $12 million from endorsements, too.

In terms of salaries/ winnings/ bonuses Tiger is a dwarf as compared to the NBA basketballers, baseball and American football players.

By the way, young NBA star Lebron James who turns 20 only in December this year, makes $4.01 million in earnings, but makes another $35 million from endorsements. James' figure for endorsements is second only to Tiger's $70 million in the top 50 list.

Many of these athletes have houses with 20 bedrooms, three swimming pools, more than 20 cars, golf courses and private jets, full-fledged gaming rooms, bowling alleys, horse stables, recording studios, cigar bar and private theatres with 50-70 seats, each having its own popcorn making machine.

Of course, one could go on and on with such statistics and break-ups, but it sure does make our cricketers, kings in their sport, look poor cousins.

In fact, it makes me almost feel sorry for them, since barring Sachin Tendulkar (Rs 20 crore to Rs 25 crore equivalent to about $5 million to $6 million), the rest make less than one fourth of that. Hey even Sachin would not figure in the top 50 of the list we are discussing. So, let's not grudge him his BMW or Ferrari.