It's good to be Tiger ...

http://blogs.forbes.com/kurtbadenhausen/2011/05/31/the-worlds-highest-paid-athletes/

unbelievable he still has that kind of earning power ...

There is HUGE money at the top of European soccer. At one point a few years ago, Ronaldinho (now pretty much over the hill) was the highest paid salaried athlete at over $30 million. More than A-Rod, Pujols, LeBron, Kobe, everyone.

I'm not surprised. Why do you find it unbelievable?

People seem to forget that Kobe raped a girl and he's #2 on that list.   Tiger may be a total pig but he didn't do anything illegal.

"Kobe was accused of rape, and all he had to do was settle in court for millions of dollars, change his jersey number and win a championship and that soulless town in LA couldn't be prouder. I just hope that when parents let their kids run around in #24 jerseys, they have the decency to say: 'well come on, number 8 was the rapist.'" -Daniel Tosh :-P

ok, i'll bite ... First of all, it's golf, not a mainstream team sports star that most everyone can relate to (I'm not busting on golf, just being realistic).     Second, he was involved in an extra-marital sex scandal - women in general hate him now almost without exception.     Thirdly, his game is in the toilet, and has been for the last couple years.     Seems pretty obvious to me that it's kind of odd he still remains the professional athlete of highest earnings ...

Eh, I don't think this really has anything to do with the amount of money he can still pull in.

I'd say that in in a public poll you might get that reaction, but in an anonymous poll it'd be more like 15% hate him and the rest are licking their chops.

It's PC to say he's a scumbag for what he did, and its a moral decency point if you say it for others to hear, but how is he any different than any other d-bag (man or women) that cheats on their spouse?  Most of the time those same d-bags end up dating, and getting remarried, proof that in the long run no one is seriously concerned by the behavior one way or the other.

You are surprised that the biggest sport in the world has a lot of the world's highest paid athletes?

American football, basketball and baseball barely rate on the international consciousness. Soccer is huge.

Do you realise that the Football World Cup is a much bigger event than the Olympics?

Golf may not get the #1 spot on Sports Center all that often, but guys like Tiger Woods, John Daly, and Arnold Palmer do bring golf to the masses. I realize I'm not a typical case, but I doubt I'd even know much about golf if it weren't for Tiger. I can't imagine a set of circumstances in my life that would have lead me to play it otherwise (I got into it as a semi-adult through TW04 game). And I bet that if John didn't have his fun set of behavioral issues, he'd be making good endorsement money too (obviously not Tiger level, but I bet he'd be near the top of golf's endorsement money list). It's not like the #1 spot is held by something that's more regional, like a lacrosse player or a championship rower. Plus, even if you reach fewer people with golf, don't golf fans tend to have more expendable income than the average fan base for most other sports (except maybe tennis)? There's also the issue of the divisiveness of team sports - a big star who is known for an affiliation with a team might be a net drag for a company. (BTW, this is all what makes sense to me -- I've never so much as taken an advertising class. If you have some expertise in the area, please let me know.) [quote name="inthehole" url="/forum/thread/47533/it-s-good-to-be-tiger#post_615062"]Second, he was involved in an extra-marital sex scandal - women in general hate him now almost without exception.[/quote] I'm not really all that convinced that all women hate him, other than maybe it being based around the [i]The View[/i] crowd. I know most golf conversations with my mother (not in that crowd) end up with her saying how much she wants to see Tiger win again, and how much she does cheer for him when he's on TV. Bias example, sure. We actually stopped buying Gatorade in our family when they dropped him from the endorsement (not when they stopped Gatorade Tiger, which happened the day before the car/tree interaction); whatever sports drinks we buy are either Target brand or Powerade. Maybe you and I know a different crowd of women, but the only ones I know that don't like Tiger now didn't like him two years ago, they just have different reasons to say. To pick on another celebrity athlete with marital problems of a different variety, wasn't O.J. Simpson still reasonably popular, despite his high-profile problems with Nicole, at least before her death? I likewise doubt Ben Roethlisberger or Brett Favre would have trouble finding willing women these days either. Long story short, famous men having woman-related escapades, whether violent, bizarre, or just plain stepping out, doesn't seem to stop them from having plenty of admirers. [quote name="inthehole" url="/forum/thread/47533/it-s-good-to-be-tiger#post_615062"] Thirdly, his game is in the toilet, and has been for the last couple years.     Seems pretty obvious to me that it's kind of odd he still remains the professional athlete of highest earnings ...[/quote] You don't necessarily have to be the best, just the most marketable, particularly for a recognizable sport (especially one whose fans tend to have more expendable income). Really, I'm more surprised to see Kobe Bryant so high on the list, not because of the Katelyn Faber nonsense, but because I'm wondering what markets he can reach -- is he really popular enough outside of So Cal? (I haven't watched or followed basketball since I was single-digit age, so I have no idea). Also, aren't there plenty of retired athletes making good endorsement money?

They actually made this point on an episode of Top Gear once. Mercedes (I believe) sponsored Wayne Rooney, a highly polarizing player. Well, that's great if you're a Man U fan, but although there are probably more Man U fans in Britain than any other individual team, it's still a pretty small percentage of the whole population, and the rest of the country hates the guy. [quote name="inthehole" url="/forum/thread/47533/it-s-good-to-be-tiger#post_615062"]Second, he was involved in an extra-marital sex scandal - women in general hate him now almost without exception.[/quote] I have to agree with Shindig here. Most of the women I know don't hate him, they just don't care about golf anyway. My mom, in fact, is still a fan for some reason.

I guess it doesn't surprise me.  Tiger is still a popular figure, albeit viewed differently since his troubles, and most would like to see him in the winner's circle again.  But if he doesn't begin winning soon his income will continue the downward trend of the last couple of years.  Yes, while still #1 his income, had diminished since 2009 by a significant percentage.

FWIW, Kobe is huge in China, which is a fair sized market.

Arnie kept appearing on the endorsement money lists for a long time after he retired.