BusinessWeek Sports Power 100 List

There has been some buzz this week surrounding BusinessWeek’s release of their sports Power 100 list. In this case, power is referring primarily to earning power, for the athletes and those that work with them. It is a little controversial to still see Tiger Woods on the top of the list, but when you consider how much revenue he generated before any of his personal issues came to light, it does make sense.

The rest of the top five were LeBron James, Phil Mickelson, Albert Pujols and Peyton Manning. LeBron at #2 makes a lot of sense, but I thought that Manning (the NFL’s most marketable player) would be a shoe-in for #3. Instead, another golfer slides in at #3 and the most dangerous hitter in baseball landed at #4, even though he’s seems to slide under the radar in the public spotlight (probably because he plays in St. Louis). Here are some other quick “surprises” in my opinion:

• Brett Favre at #15 – Seems low considering his immense impact of the NFL’s ratings and merchandise sales
• Joe Mauer at #19 – Seems high since he still has a reasonably low contract number and plays in a small market
• David Beckham at #35 – Seems low – he’s still arguably the most iconic soccer player in the world
• Alex Ovechkin/Sidney Crosby at #37/39 – Seems low, since they are the current identity of the NHL
• Hines Ward at #40 – Seems high for a aging WR who doesn’t get nearly the attention that other NFL wide receivers receive
• Danica Patrick at #88 – Seems low – with her move to the Nationwide Series, her marketing and earning potential keeps growing

BusinessWeek does a nice job is breaking down the methodology of their list, providing additional analysis on why some did (and didn’t) make the cut, and other looks at the top sports business stories of the year. Click here to read more about their Power 100 list. If you want a quick look at this list yourself, you can see it right here behind the break.

           POWER 100 LIST
==========================================
     Athlete             Sport
==========================================
  1. Tiger Woods         Golf
  2. LeBron James        Basketball
  3. Phil Mickelson      Golf
  4. Albert Pujols       Baseball
  5. Peyton Manning      Football
  6. Dwyane Wade         Basketball
  7. Michael Phelps      Swimming
  8. Adrian Peterson     Football
  9. Shaquille O’Neal    Basketball
 10. Lance Armstrong     Cycling
 11. Rafael Nadal        Tennis
 12. Kobe Bryant         Basketball
 13. Larry Fitzgerald    Football
 14. Ryan Howard         Baseball
 15. Brett Favre         Football
 16. Serena Williams     Tennis
 17. Roger Federer       Tennis
 18. Eli Manning         Football
 19. Joe Mauer           Baseball
 20. Tim Duncan          Basketball
 21. Jimmie Johnson      Auto Racing
 22. Kevin Garnett       Basketball
 23. Chris Johnson       Football
 24. Randy Moss          Football
 25. Drew Brees          Football
 26. Kurt Warner         Football
 27. Usain Bolt          Track & Field
 28. Jeff Gordon         Auto Racing
 29. Dirk Nowitzki       Basketball
 30. Tom Brady           Football
 31. Kevin Durant        Basketball
 32. CC Sabathia         Baseball
 33. Derek Jeter         Baseball
 34. Prince Fielder      Baseball
 35. David Beckham       Soccer
 36. Dwight Howard       Basketball
 37. Alex Ovechkin       Hockey
 38. Andre Johnson       Football
 39. Sidney Crosby       Hockey
 40. Hines Ward          Football
 41. Mark Martin         Auto Racing
 42. Venus Williams      Tennis
 43. Donovan McNabb      Football
 44. Chris Paul          Basketball
 45. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Auto Racing
 46. Mark Teixeira       Baseball
 47. LaDainian Tomlinson Football
 48. Tony Stewart        Auto Racing
 49. Chase Utley         Baseball
 50. Jim Furyk           Golf
 51. Shaun White         Snowboarding
 52. David Wright        Baseball
 53. Ilya Kovalchuk      Hockey
 54. Ben Roethlisberger  Football
 55. Steve Nash          Basketball
 56. Lorena Ochoa        Golf
 57. Evan Longoria       Baseball
 58. Deron Williams      Basketball
 59. Paul Pierce         Basketball
 60. Carmelo Anthony     Basketball
 61. Alex Rodriguez      Baseball
 62. Johan Santana       Baseball
 63. Tim Lincecum        Baseball
 64. Apolo Anton Ohno    Speedskating
 65. Stewart Cink        Golf
 66. Ray Allen           Basketball
 67. Carl Edwards        Auto Racing
 68. Yao Ming            Basketball
 69. Troy Polamalu       Football
 70. Kyle Busch          Auto Racing
 71. Landon Donovan      Soccer
 72. Manny Pacquiao      Boxing
 73. Padraig Harrington  Golfer
 74. Vince Carter        Basketball
 75. Tony Romo           Football
 76. Dustin Pedroia      Baseball
 77. Ichiro Suzuki       Baseball
 78. Ray Lewis           Football
 79. Andy Roddick        Tennis
 80. Maria Sharapova     Tennis
 81. Sergio Garcia       Golf
 82. Fedor Emelianenko   Mixed Martial Arts
 83. Derrick Rose        Basketball
 84. Vijay Singh         Golf
 85. Steven Jackson      Football
 86. Andy Murray         Tennis
 87. Allen Iverson       Basketball
 88. Danica Patrick      Auto Racing
 89. Brandon Roy         Basketball
 90. Manny Ramirez       Baseball
 91. Floyd Mayweather    Boxing
 92. Candace Parker      Basketball
 93. Shane Mosley        Boxing
 94. Diana Taurasi       Basketball
 95. Misty May-Treanor   Volleyball
 96. Brock Lesnar        Mixed Martial Arts
 97. Patrick Kane        Hockey
 98. Chad Ochocinco      Football
 99. Matt Ryan           Football
100. Ryan Sheckler       Skateboarding