The Fortunate 50

Jonah Freedman of Sports Illustrated has compiled his annual list of the top 50 earning U.S. athletes, taking into account salary, winnings, and endorsements. Always a fun read. Some interesting points:* Tiger Woods, not surprisingly, ranks first, earning just under $100 million ($92 million of which is from endorsements), followed by fellow golfer Phil Mickelson.* Lebron James ranks third, earning $42 million. Will his endorsement income--which is already $28 million a year--go up should he leave Cleveland next summer for the Knicks?* Three of the top 10 earning atheltes are NBA players who jumped directly from high school to the NBA (Lebron, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant), while four other prep-to-pro stars are also in the top 32 (Dwight Howard is #13, Jermaine O'Neal is #20, Rashard Lewis is #30, and Amare Stoudemire is #32). Allen Iverson, who was my more celebrated classmate at Georgetown University for two years, and Shaquille O'Neal, who played three years at LSU,...