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      Ranking the 50 highest-earning athletes

      July 1, 2009 /

      SI.com compiled a ranking of the 50 highest-earning American athletes and discovered that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are at the top of the list.

      1. Tiger Woods
      Pro Golf
      Last Year’s Rank: 1
      Salary/Winnings: $7,737,626
      Endorsements: $92,000,000
      Total: $99,737,626

      Tiger sacrificed millions in appearance fees during his year off to recover from knee surgery, but replaced his lucrative Buick deal — voided by mutual consent — with a new one from AT&T.

      2. Phil Mickelson
      Pro Golf
      Last Year’s Rank: 2
      Salary/Winnings: $6,350,356
      Endorsements: $46,600,000
      Total: $52,950,356

      Like Tiger, Phil no longer counts on a car-maker in his endorsement portfolio. (Ford chose not to re-sign him.) He still has lucrative deals with Rolex, Callaway, Exxon, Barclay’s and KPMG.

      3. LeBron James
      Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
      Last Year’s Rank: 3
      Salary/Winnings: $14,410,581
      Endorsements: $28,000,000
      Total: $42,410,581

      LeBron has one more season left under his deal before he can opt out. If Cleveland doesn’t show it’s Finals-worthy by next spring, expect the Knicks to come in with a huge offer.

      4. Alex Rodriguez
      New York Yankees (MLB)
      Last Year’s Rank: 6 (tie)
      Salary/Winnings: $33,000,000
      Endorsements: $6,000,000
      Total: $39,000,000

      We’re in the middle of A-Rod’s peak earning power in his middle-loaded, 10-year megadeal: He’ll make another $33 million in 2010 and then gradually decrease to a “normal” $20 million by ’17.

      No. 5 Shaquille O’Neal
      Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
      Last Year’s Rank: 6 (tie)
      Salary/Winnings: $20,000,000
      Endorsements: $15,000,000
      Total: $35,000,000

      The Big Bargaining Chip? Regardless of his trade to Cleveland, Shaq is in the final year of the five-year, $100 million deal he signed while with Miami. It’s the largest expiring deal in the NBA.

      No. 10 Peyton Manning
      Indianapolis Colts (NFL)
      Last Year’s Rank: 9
      Salary/Winnings: $14,500,000
      Endorsements: $13,000,000
      Total: $27,000,000

      NFL’s top endorser has distributed $500,000 in grants in ’09 through his PayBack Foundation to charities in Indianapolis, near his alma mater (Tennessee) and his hometown, New Orleans.

      It’s amazing that the highest paid NFL player (Peyton Manning) barely cracked the top 10. Granted, the NFL only has a 17-game regular season, but you’d think that for what football players put their bodies through every season that they would make more than baseball players, golfers and basketball players.

      Although he is pitching well this season despite his overall numbers, seeing Zito’s name on this list at No. 26 makes me shudder. He’s the third best pitcher (maybe fourth depending on how high you value Randy Johnson) on his own club, yet he’s the 26th highest-earning American athlete. Still, it should be noted that Zito donates $400 for every strikeout that he throws to the Strikeouts for Troops charity that he created to help hospitals treat soldiers that are wounded in military operations. In fact, as the article notes, a lot of the guys on this list give thousands of dollars to charities every year and that shouldn’t be overlooked.

      General Sports, Golf, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, Soccer, Tennis

      Denny Green: ‘Vick will wind up with Bill Parcells.’

      July 1, 2009 /

      Former NFL head coach Denny Green went on Sirius radio earlier this week and said that he has a hard time believing that suspended quarterback Michael Vick won’t wind up with Bill Parcells in Miami.

      “I have a hard time believing that Michael Vick is not going to wind up with Bill Parcells, simply because [Parcells] has that creativeness that says no matter what it takes, he’s going to find a way to get Michael Vick. Now, whether it means convincing the commissioner or whatever it takes, Michael Vick is probably going to wind up at Miami because of the fact Bill Parcells is Bill Parcells.”

      Yikes. It seems like with these comments, Green is just picking up a stone and tossing it as far as he can in hopes to hit water and make a splash. Not to discredit a man that has more NFL experience in one day than I will ever have in a lifetime, but there’s no way anyone should buy into what Green is saying. In fact, I fully believe that once Parcells catches wind of Green’s comments he’ll shoot down the idea of ever pursuing Vick.

      Yes, Vick would be a nice fit in Miami’s “Wildcat” formation. But last time I checked, the NFL still only uses one football during a given game and the Fins already have Ronnie Brown and Pat White (whom they selected in the second round of April’s draft specifically for their “Wildcat” offense) on the roster. Why sign Vick and create a massive media circus for your team when you already have the players to run the scheme that best fits Vick? It doesn’t make a lot of sense and even for as creative as Parcells may be, he’s not stupid.

      Again, this just seems like Green’s attempt to make something out of nothing. Had Miami not taken White in the second round of this year’s draft, maybe Parcells would be more inclined to sign Vick. But considering they already have the players for the “Wildcat” and Parcells might not be there in a year anyway, I highly doubt he would sign the dog fighter.

      NFL

      Report: Angels wanted Haren, but D-Backs declined

      July 1, 2009 /

      The Angels have leapfrogged the Rangers for first place in the AL West, although that doesn’t mean that they’re ready to stand pat with their current roster.

      According to a report by FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Halos inquired about Diamondbacks’ starter Dan Haren, who could have joined Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, John Lackey and Ervin Santana (once he’s activated from the DL) to form one of the better rotations in the American League.

      But as Rosenthal reports, Arizona didn’t want to part with Haren, who the club views as a significant piece of its future. Rosenthal writes that L.A. could have used “their surplus of catchers and middle infielders” to put together a blockbuster offer, but in the end the D-Backs couldn’t imagine a package that would be big enough to sway them to move Haren.

      And who could blame them? Even though they’re a whopping 17.5 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West doesn’t mean that’d be more inclined to deal the 28-year old Haren, who leads the club in wins, ERA and strikeouts. With marquee pitching being such a premium in baseball, the D’Backs need to hang tightly onto Haren.

      MLB, Rumors & Gossip

      Marshall told police in ’07 that he “hated Denver”

      July 1, 2009 /

      During an arrest in October of 2007 for suspicion of DUI, Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall reportedly told police that he hated Denver and that he hoped that the team would trade him.

      “I hate Denver. I hope I get traded. I hate this f******* city,” an officer wrote in the police report.

      The report was only made public after CALL7 Investigators asked for it, after receiving a tip about the report’s content. Read full report — WARNING: Graphic Language
      “What we know about Brandon Marshall is he is a supremely talented football player on the field with the habit of getting in trouble off the field,” said Adam Schefter, NFL correspondent for ESPN.

      The information is particularly relevant because Marshall has recently asked for a trade.

      “I think that we’ve known Brandon Marshall is interested in a change of scenery, and I think these comments show that that change of scenery is probably not very new in his thinking its something that dates back to his arrest,” Schefter said. “These are some deep-seated feelings that came out during this incident and now they have come to light.”
      Marshall also berated police for stopping him and not finding the killer of fellow Bronco Darrent Williams.

      “Why aren’t you guys out looking for Williams’ killer?” the report says.

      Marshall’s situation in Denver just went from a player who is frustrated over his contract, to a player that has wanted out for some time and will stop at nothing to do so. He may be upset about the fact that his entering the final year of his rookie contract and the way the team’s doctors handled his hip injury, but the real crux of the issue is that he just wants out.

      Yesterday, ESPN.com reported that the Broncos were going to stand firm and not trade Marshall. They don’t want to set a precedent where whenever a player demands a trade, they give in a la Jay Culter. But they’re dealing with an extremely disgruntled receiver right now and chances are that if he wants out, he’s going to be willing to sit out training camp and push Denver into a tight corner.

      NFL

      Report: Stallworth tested positive for pot following accident

      July 1, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Miami Herald, Browns receiver Donte’ Stallworth tested positive for marijuana after fatally killing pedestrian Mario Reyes with his car.

      Stallworth, 28, is serving one month in jail after pleading guilty last month to DUI manslaughter.
      Miami-Dade prosecutors say his blood alcohol level was .126, well above the legal limit, when his Bentley hit and killed Mario Reyes, 59, on the morning of March 14.

      Stallworth’s test results, which have yet to be released, showed traces of marijuana, according to sources with knowledge of the results.

      In 2007, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Stallworth was in the NFL’s substance abuse program for an unspecified reason.

      Stallworth has already struck a deal with the Reyes family, so this means nothing in terms of his legal situation. However, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has already suspended Stallworth indefinitely and surely a positive drug test would surely extend his suspension even longer.

      I guess Jim Brown was right when he said that he had “heard” Stallworth had marijuana in his system when he was arrested. That crazy Jim Brown – he knows everything.

      NFL

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