Top 2 sports money earners... golfers!

[SubPar]

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.

Full Story: 50 top

Hey! How did Furyk sneak in there?

[xamilo]

Its curious there is no F1 racer in the list. Michael Shumacher was on top of the list for a long long time...

[Ceej]

Lebron made more than Kobe. Strange.

[pittpanther]

Lebron made more than Kobe. Strange.

Is it strange? Total Earnings is largely made up of endorsements, and endorsements come when you're 'likeable.' Kobe may be the best player since MJ, but one the he is NOT is likeable.

Kobe played his high-school ball in the Philly suburbs, yet he is constantly boo'ed when he plays against the Sixers. Not because he's on the opposing team, but because for some reason, people just don;t like him. More so than most pro athletes, Kobe seems to just ooze a self-important smugness - cockiness multiplied by 1,000. Jordan was cocky on the court, but he was well-like by everyone, even in opposing arenas. I don't know what it is with Kobe... I don't think it's related to his legal troubles either - plenty of pro athletes have gone through worse, and come out smelling like a rose.

[Ceej]

Is it strange? Total Earnings is largely made up of endorsements, and endorsements come when you're 'likeable.' Kobe may be the best player since MJ, but one the he is NOT is likeable.

Kobe has really toned it down ever since the big trade issue. Also, basically every player in the NBA is oozing self-important smugness (Lebron included). Not as many people hate Kobe as you like to think.

[golf_junkie27]

Jordan was cocky on the court, but he was well-like by everyone, even in opposing arenas. I don't know what it is with Kobe... I don't think it's related to his legal troubles either - plenty of pro athletes have gone through worse, and come out smelling like a rose.

It's called Nike spending a vast amount of money and resources marketing Michael Jordan. As for Jordan being well-like by everyone, that is simply not true. In his younger days, he was despised by a lot of players. Showing up to a slam dunk championship in Nike Gear and not wearing his uniform, wearing three and four gold chains, etc. He was frozen out in an All Star game and plenty of players gave him the business.

Kobe is like Arod. Supremely talented, cocky, good looking and polished. Exactly the opposite of a lot of NBA players.

[pittpanther]

Kobe has really toned it down ever since the big trade issue. Also, basically every player in the NBA is oozing self-important smugness (Lebron included). Not as many people hate Kobe as you like to think.

Well, I don't think darn near anyone dislikes Lebron, while Kobe has a sizable population of bball fans that dislike him. And I did mention that Kobe's smugness seems to transcend the typical smugness of most pro athletes.

Speaking of big trades, Magic Johnson got his first coach fired, after winning a championship. They brought in Pat Riley and won four more titles. Jordan played a hand in getting coach Doug Collins fired. They brought in Phil Jackson and won six titles. Kobe however, lobbied to get a fellow PLAYER (Shaq) traded. The result? Three titles - for San Antonio! Publicly bad-mouthing your teammate is something you almost never see in team sports, and I think is a major contributor to Kobe's unlikability (is that even a word?)...

[golfunit]

No wimmens...

[Elsfan]

A lot of jokes on that list, Stephon Marbury comes to mind. The NFL draft picks bother me the most. First rounders getting huge money before they even hit the field.