Sports Stars Who Are Winning On and Off the Field

Laurie Hernandez became a breakout star at the Rio Olympics, and her turn on Dancing With The Stars has only bolstered her fame.

Elsewhere, Tom Brady might be serving a four-game suspension, but that guy is always winning. Some athletes are just, well, winners. 

Not many athletes have the luxury of on-field success combined with off-field superstardom. These 10 athletes have that going right now.

Either their teams are of the winning variety or they are individually successful in their respective solo sports. In addition to that, these athletes experience great fame in pop culture for their contributions to entertainment, fashion or simply for their dope lifestyles.

Sure, it's tough to know about the private feelings of these athletes, but they sure appear to be leading successful, enjoyable lives. Example: Do a lot of people wish they were Tom Brady? Probably.

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps put on yet another incredible Olympic show in Rio de Janeiro. The American swimming legend took home five gold medals and one silver and was later named Team USA's Male Athlete of the Olympic Games.

Out of the pool, Phelps has shown up at the MTV Video Music Awards and on talk shows like The Tonight Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. On Ellen, he taught executive producer Andy Lassner how to do the butterfly on the hilarious Average Andy segment.  

Phelps further proved winning is just in his genes with this on-the-money golf shot at the Ryder Cup Celebrity Match and this epic performance to win Lip Sync Battle: All-Stars Live.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams might have lost her No. 1 world ranking, but she's still a winner of historic proportions. With a Wimbledon title in July, Williams won her 22nd singles Grand Slam and tied Steffi Graf for the most in the Open Era.   

And even though Williams fell to Karolina Pliskova in the U.S. Open semifinal, entertainment super-couple Beyonce and Jay Z were still on hand to see her second-round match. 

Off the court, Williams has had success in the fashion world. She showed a new fall line at New York Fashion Week and followed that up with an appearance at Milan Fashion Week. Here she is taking a selfie with iconic designer Giorgio Armani, which probably counts as pretty sweet in the fashion biz.

Other stars to show up on Williams' Instagram feed include singer Ciara, designer Donatella Versace and Kate Middleton.

Von Miller

Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller won a Super Bowl in February and leads the NFL in sacks (with five) through Week 3 of the encore season. He also landed the largest contract for any non-quarterback in NFL history when he inked a six-year, $114.5 million deal with Denver in July. 

During the offseason, Miller competed on Dancing with the Stars and endeared himself to fans by sharing his love for chicken farming with ESPN's Sam Alipour.

Miller continues to be one of the most jovial personalities in sports. Not convinced? Just check out his Justin Bieber-themed ad for Madden NFL 17. #Winning.

Conor McGregor

If being in the spotlight is the goal of UFC fighter Conor McGregor, then he is definitely winning. In the Octagon, the Irish fighter avenged his loss to Nate Diaz with a majority decision at UFC 202. Next up, he's scheduled to headline UFC 205 with a title fight against Eddie Alvarez.

Still, most of what fans hear about McGregor occurs outside the Octagon, usually in the form of trash talking. McGregor recently claimed the UFC "begged" him to fight Alvarez, per MMA Weekly (via Yahoo Sports). He also just torched fighter Jeremy Stephens at the UFC 205 press conference, asking, "Who the f--k is that guy?" per Mookie Alexander of Bloody Elbow.

As if all that wasn't enough, rumors of a fight against Floyd Mayweather still refuse to die, and McGregor has been featured in the new Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare game along with Game of Thrones star Kit Harington.

Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt has announced he's done with the Olympic Games, but he sure went out with a bang—specifically, cementing gold medal three-peats in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 4x100-meter relay events.

Like Michael Phelps, Bolt appears to be having a lot of fun post-Olympics. He hung out backstage at a Drake concert and "raced" comedian James Corden with his "world's fastest man" title on the line. Afterward, Bolt said (accurately), "Number one. All day every day, I'm the winner," per Marisa Russell of CNN.

Not only that, but according to Bolt, he has also fielded offers from the NFL. The sprinter revealed on The Dan Patrick Show (via Seth Rubinroit of NBC Sports), "I've never really thought about going. but I've gotten offers, and people have asked me."

Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook hasn't won a title with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he has helped the team to the playoffs in six of his eight seasons and made five All-Star teams. And with the departure of Kevin Durant in the offseason, Westbrook has slipped right into the hero role in OKC.

Off the court, Westbrook continues to make waves in the fashion industry. Voted Best Dressed by his fellow NBA players in August, Westbrook regularly puts his bold style on display.

His new capsule collection, True Religion X Russell Westbrook, will launch in October, and according to the Associated Press (via Fox Sports), the guard regularly rubs elbows with fashion big-wigs like Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

No Durant? No problem for Westbrook, who told reporters he hasn't spoken to his former teammate, per Jeremy Gottlieb of the Washington Post. Plus, he appears to be getting along with his existing teammates rather well.

David Ortiz

Things are going pretty well for David Ortiz. Not only did his Boston Red Sox clinch the American League East title, but the designated hitter has become the oldest player to ever hit 30 home runs and is having the "greatest final season in the last 50 years," according to Ben Cosman of MLB.com.

Off the field, Ortiz appears to be enjoying himself. He starred in Lyft's latest undercover driver ad and visited a corn maze made to look like him.  

As is generally standard procedure with farewell tours, opposing teams have been showering Ortiz with love all season long. Notably, the Baltimore Orioles hilariously gifted him a dugout phone he once destroyed in a fit of rage. So it's been a fun year for Papi. 

Ortiz is a beloved winner, on and off the field, and the 2016 season has been a perfect representation of that.

Laurie Hernandez

Laurie Hernandez was a breakout star of the Rio Olympics. The 16-year-old American gymnast won an individual silver medal in the balance beam and a team gold with Team USA's "Final Five."

Since the Games, Hernandez has kept the momentum going and taken pop culture by storm. She was the anti-50 Cent throwing out a ceremonial first pitch at a New York Mets game, and she attended the MTV Video Music Awards with teammates Simone Biles, Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman. Hernandez endeared herself even more and became instantly relatable to pretty much everyone when she geeked out over meeting Beyonce.

Not only that, but Hernandez has been "setting fire to the Dancing With The Stars dance floor," as Haley Goldberg of Self put it.

LeBron James

LeBron James succeeded in bringing an NBA title the Cleveland in 2016 and continues to be one of the greatest athletes on the planet. Not too shabby for on-court success.

And yet, his offseason has appeared to be equally boss. James kicked things off by winning the troll game with his "Ultimate Warrior" T-shirt and basking in his Cavaliers' glory with a championship parade attended by over a million fans.

One parade is not sufficient for a winner of James' magnitude, however, and his fans in China threw him one too.

Beyond that, James' new reality show, Cleveland Hustles, debuted on CNBC, and actor/producer Mark Wahlberg told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show he's in talks to do in a movie with James. When it comes to sports and entertainment, James really is the king.

Tom Brady

Only Tom Brady could be "winning on and off the field" while simultaneously serving a four-game suspension.

Not only are Brady's New England Patriots 3-0 without their starting quarterback, but his in-suspension activities don't look too shabby, either.

Case in point: Three weeks into the suspension, DailyMail.com published photos of Brady vacationing in Italy with his wife, Gisele Bundchen.

He has also used some of his unexpected free time as an opportunity to serve as honorary captain at a Michigan home football game against Colorado. It sure looked like the QB enjoyed being back at his alma mater, playing catch with his son and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Brady has also been trolling the Patriots' fallen opponents on Facebook—one can only imagine the satisfaction that 3-0 record must give him. And oh by the way, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are fighting over who is better friends with him. So life's not all bad for Brady.