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| Yes, this is awkward. (US PRESSWIRE) |
It took eight years, several knee operations and one career-shifting scandal but Tiger Woods is no longer the top-earning U.S. athlete, according to Sports Illustrated's annual rankings. Woods, who spent all but nine months from August 1999 to October 2010 as the world's No. 1 golfer, has been passed in earnings by boxer Floyd Mayweather and -- wait for it -- fellow golfer Phil Mickelson.
According to Bloomberg, Mayweather, who made $85 million in the past year from world title bouts against Victor Ortiz and Miguel Cotto, is atop SI's "Fortune 50" list even without earning a single penny through endorsements.
Mickelson is No. 2 on the "Fortune 50," earning $60.8 million last year, with $57 million coming from endorsement and sponsorship deals. Mickelson ranked second in last year's rankings, too.
Woods, meanwhile, "slipped" to third on the list after his 2011 earnings totaled a meager $56.4 million, the lowest it's been since SI began the "Fortune 50" in 2004. (Made all the more mind-boggling by the fact that Woods lost virtually all of his endorsements after his mistresses queued up to publicly tell their stories in early 2010.)
Other notable names to make the list:
* No. 4. Kobe Bryant, $48.3 million
* No. 5. LeBron James, $45.9 million
* No. 6. Alex Rodriguez, $33.5 million
* No. 7. Peyton Manning, $31 million
* No. 9. Derek Jeter, $27.7 million
* No. 10. Larry Fitzgerald, $26.8 million
Switzerland's Roger Federer is the top-earning international athlete, hauling in a cool $51.4 million. Soccer players David Beckham ($46 million), Lionel Messi ($41.2 million) and Cristiano Ronaldo ($40.2 million) followed, and tennis player Maria Sharapova, the only woman to make either list, made $26.5 million.
