When I learned that there would be a competition for a spot in Business Week's Power 100, I decided to take a stab. So, when I thought about the most powerful athletes in the industry, the obvious came to mind. The Lebrons, the Tigers, and the Kobes were first. Then I started to think, the top five would probably be too easy. So instead of picking apart the top five or ten, this article will discuss the top 25.
25. Candace Parker, Women's Basketball
The first woman to dunk in a women's college basketball game. She is now assisting her teammate Lisa Leslie in expanding the WNBA. When most people think of women's basketball, Candace is the second name that comes to mind. She could go down as being the best female basketball player to ever suit up. She is the first athlete on this list who is on her way to moving up.
24. Andy Roddick, Tennis
Not what he used to be, but he still deserves to be in here. He has earned a spot as, probably, the most recognizable male United States Tennis player—partly because there are few others who are competitive. James Blake might be better than Roddick, but he needs time and he needs to be able to compete with Federer and Nadal to elevate himself to the next level.
23. Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR
Dale is not the best driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, yet he remains one of the sport's most popular. Being Dale Earnhardt's son probably isn't hurting him. When his father died in 2001, fans were heart broken. People soon began to fall in love with Dale Jr. after his win at Daytona in the first race there after his father's death and the rest is history.
22. Yao Ming, Basketball
Yao is an extremely marketable player, especially to an Asian audience. He is one of the NBA's best centers and everyone knows of him. The word Yao can be recognized by almost every American that has ever watched television.
21. Adrian Peterson, Football
Here is our second up-and-comer. Adrian Peterson will soon be huge. In his first NFL season, he was a pro bowl running back. He broke the NFL's single game rushing record against San Diego and would have led the league in rushing if not for an injury against Green Bay. When he was 100 percent, Peterson dominated the league and should continue to dominate the league. The Minnesota Vikings will look to be competitive for a Superbowl in the coming years, with Adrian being the centerpiece of the offense.
20. Shaquille O'neal, Basketball
8 comments Last one added 12 months ago — Leave a Comment
Ralph isaac 12 months ago
I think Kobe deserves #2 on this spot. He's the top earner in basketball(39 million) followed by lebron(38 million). these are forbes.com numbers. And he's the best player in the world. though if we follow Forbes the list is just as u said, tiger #1, Lebron #2, Kobe #3. And they are the top 3 most powerful athletes in the world. I think Kobe is more well known than Lebron though, Lebron's hype come mostly from the Nike marketing machine.
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Hudson B 12 months ago
There is a toss-up. It can go either way and would make a great debate. I have LeBron at #2 because of the endorsements. Also, more young people recognize Lebron James over Kobe Bryant.
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Ralph isaac 12 months ago
Oh and Dwayne Wade doesnt belong in the top 10, According to Forbes(which I trust more than U), the most powerful Athletes in the USA(active) is:
1.Tiger Woods
2.Lebron
3.Kobe
4.Phil Michelson
5.Alex rodriguez
6.Jeff Gordon
7.Shaquille O'neal
8.Dale Earnhardt Jr.
9.Kevin Garnett
10.Serena Williams
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Hudson B 12 months ago
Well, Dwayne Wade has made a name for himself and young and old people know him better than they know Phil Mickelson. KG definitely deserves a shot at being in the top 25, but I don't think he is one of the top ten most recognizable athletes in the country, yet at least. I didn't think I should rank a NASCAR driver that high because I figured that the major sports overcame the second-tier sports, like NASCAR, Golf, and Tennis. Shaq has fallen from where he used to be and I don't think he deserves to remain in the top ten. Derek Jeter absolutely deserves to be in the top ten and the list is off by not having him. Phil Mickelson has not been successful recently and no golfer comes remotely close to making this list other than Tiger or himself. He is almost in the top 25, but not quite. Serena could easily be at 10 or higher, but I don't think 16 is a stretch.
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Ralph isaac 12 months ago
Hudson, this is was made by Forbes.com, in international Athletes KG doesnt rank in top 10 but since u are talking about American Athletes, KG is in Forbes'top 10. They measure it by Salary, TV rank, Press rank, and Web rank.
And on the Kobe and Lebron thing, more people recognize Kobe than they do Lebron. It's just that because of Colorado and Shaq divorce, people like Lebron more(dont forget the Nike marketing machine). Hence the endorsement difference. But as far as recognition factor, Kb beats lebron by a mile.
Try this for example: Go on news.yahoo.com, search Lebron James and Search Kobe Bryant. Notice the difference in hits. KObe's hits are twice as Lebron's. You can go on news.google.com too, you'll get the same results.
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Hudson B 12 months ago
Well, the reason that you will see more hits on google and yahoo is probably because Kobe has been around for a lot longer than LeBron. It is one of those arguements that can't be proven right or wrong. LeBrun is bigger right now and if not, its only a matter of time. Also, where can I find this Forbes.com article?
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Ralph isaac 12 months ago
news.yahoo.com and news.google.com only feature recent stories, it doesnt have old stories. for that Forbes article, go on forbes.com and search for Celebrity 100, Lebron and Kobe are listed as the 16th and 19th most powerful celebs(not as an athlete but as a celebrity in general).
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Hudson B 12 months ago
Again, there is no way of putting one in front of the other. Personally, I put LeBron first, but it could still go either way. I didn't write this article based on how others ranked players, I ranked them myself. Forbes.com's rankings are good, but I strongly disagree with some of there choices. You are entitiled to your opinion and I respect your imput.
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