sweetspice Posted June 2, 2008 Author Posted June 2, 2008 Photo shoots for Tag Heuer :drool: :drool: Quote
sweetspice Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 SI.comThe foreigners are gaining fast. At a combined $581 million, this year's rundown of the top 20 highest-paid non-American athletes is the heftiest we've ever compiled, and an increase of one-third over the previous year. Why? Sure, soccer and Formula 1 -- the two most popular sports away from American shores -- are beginning to pay off as well, and in many cases better, than U.S.-based leagues. But the weakness of the American dollar has never been on better display in the sports world.Twelve of the athletes on this year's list earn their paychecks from foreign-based leagues. The British pound has been strong for years, strengthening the earnings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewis Hamilton, John Terry and Michael Ballack (as well as Fernando Alonso who, until recently, was part of the McLaren racing team). But the distortion really takes effect with the athletes who are paid in Euros, which have gained 15 percent on the American dollar over the past 12 months -- that's why the likes of Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and MotoGP god Valentino Rossi have seen significant bumps.In all, this year's International 20 features nine soccer players, three Formula 1 racers, three baseball players, two basketball players, two tennis players and one motorcycle racer. As always, our list includes salary, bonuses, endorsement income and appearance fees.1. David BeckhamLos Angeles Galaxy (MLS)Great BritainLast Year's Rank: 548 200 000 total2. Kimi RäikkönenAuto RacingFinlandLast Year's Rank: NR46 000 000 total3.RonaldinhoFC Barcelona (Soccer)BrazilLast Year's Rank: 237 500 000 total4. Lionel MessiFC Barcelona (Soccer)ArgentinaLast Year's Rank: NR35 800 000 total5. Roger FedererTennisSwitzerlandLast Year's Rank: 335 130 620 total6. Fernando AlonsoAuto RacingSpainLast Year's Rank: 17. Valentino RossiMotor SportsItalyLast Year's Rank: 48. Yao MingHouston Rockets (NBA)ChinaLast Year's Rank: 69. Cristiano RonaldoManchester United (Soccer)PortugalLast Year's Rank: NR10. Ichiro SuzukiSeattle Mariners (MLB)JapanLast Year's Rank: 7 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.