Highest Paid American Athletes 2007

In honor of the Super Bowl, I am posting Sports Illustrated's Fortunate 50 top-earning American athletes (earnings include salary, winnings, bonuses, and endorsements). However, only one of the players in today's game made the list, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, Rank: 47. 

I found a nice table of this data on SportsColumn.com. Salaries are based on current or most recently completed seasons (exception: 2007 for NFL). For winnings-based sports (auto racing, golf, tennis), 2006 calendar year amounts used.

NYTimes: More Than Ever, It Pays to Be the Top Executive

The New York Times had a graph on executive income for the article More Than Ever, It Pays to Be the Top Executive that shows the growing income gap between chief executives and their top subordinates. The article goes on to mention this "winner take all" behavior can be found in other industries like sports and entertainment. You can see more examples of this in the following graphs: Highest Paid CEOs Highest Paid CEOs vs Hedge Fund Managers US Income Distribution Highest Paid Athletes Highest Paid Celebrities Income/GDP Ratio Income share going to the top 5%