First the No. 1 world golf ranking slips through Tiger Woods’ fingers, and now he’s not even the most well-respected brand in athletics.
Ranked as the No. 1 most valuable athlete brand every year since 2008, Woods took a back seat to James, the once and future
Cleveland Cavalier in 2014.
It was a close race, with James surging in value by $10 million to $37 million, while Woods dropped from $46 million to $36 million.
Forbes, which released the list, believes that the reason for Woods’ drop was the severing of his contract with EA Sports, which had
produced his golf game for a number of years.
It’s easy to see why James is No. 1 – he endorses Nike, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola among others.
Tennis legend Roger Federer is third at $32 million, followed by another American golf icon, Phil Mickelson, ranked fourth at $29 million.
Mickelson’s money surged thanks to endorsements picked up after his British Open title last year.
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