Tiger Woods Top Earning Athlete; Phil Second

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July 3, 2009

Sports Illustrated’s annual Fortunate 50 list reveals that (surprise, surprise), Tiger Woods is the highest earning athlete in the United States. At $99.7 million, he earned more than twice as much as David Beckham, the highest earning international athlete. Tiger earned some $7.7 million from tournaments, and a whopping $92 million-plus from endorsements. That was down from $22 and $105 respectively.

It seems that the economy has affected Tiger, also.

I frankly think endorsement money is wasted by the sponsors. The fact that Tiger says he shaves with a Gillette (what—once a week?) and that there’s a Gatorade based on his sweat does not move me at all to buy those products. And I can’t recall ever having heard someone say on the course: “I bought this club because (insert player name here) plays it. Club and ball counts mean absolutely nothing to me.

Phil Mickelson comes in at number two on the list with $52.9 million in combined earnings and endorsements—again, about half that of Tiger. Jim Furyk clocks in with $16.2 million in 41st place.

Posted By The Original Golf Blogger