Forbes Best Paid Women Athletes

[bangkokbobby]

Slide Show: The World's 10 Highest-Paid Female Athletes - The World's 10 Highest-Paid Female Athletes - Forbes.com

according to Forbes:
Our income figures cover June 2009 through June 2010 and include prize money, endorsements, appearance fees and exhibitions. Tennis players dominate the top 10, making up half the list, while golfers nab three spots.

1. Maria Sharapova, tennis 24.5 million
The top-paid woman in sports signed an eight-year contract extension with Nike this year that could be worth as much as $70 million, thanks to royalties from her own tennis line and a line of bags and shoes through Nike subsidiary Cole Haan.

2. Serena Williams, tennis 20.2
Williams won two Grand Slams and a record $6.5 million in prize money in 2009. Last August Williams and sister Venus became minority owners in the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

3. Venus Williams, tennis 15.4
Williams pitches for Oreo, Powerade, Tide and Wilson, among others. She co-authored the book, "Come to Win," released in July, which looks at successful people who played sports as kids, including Richard Branson, Bill Clinton, Jack Welch and Meg Whitman.

4. Danica Patrick, racing 12
Patrick's part-time move to Nascar has been a bit bumpy, as her average finish was 30.5 in her first six starts. She remains one of racing's biggest stars with 10 personal sponsorship deals.

5. Kim Yu-Na, figure skating, 9.7
The 2010 Olympic gold medalist has an impressive endorsement portfolio including Hyundai, Nike and Samsung Electronics. Her sponsor, Kookmin Bank, took out insurance on its $1 million bonus if Kim broke her world-record score at the Olympics. She smashed it.

6. Annika Sorenstam, golf 8
The eight-time player of the year retired from the LPGA at the end of 2008, but still retains deals with the likes of Callaway, Cutter & Buck, Lexus and Rolex. Other business interests include golf course design, a golf academy and a winery.

7. Ana Ivanovic, tennis 7.2
Adidas announced a lifetime deal in February with the former No. 1-ranked player in the world. Ivanovic has struggled on the court since winning the 2008 French Open, but her website remains one of the most popular among all athletes.

8. Jelena Jankovic, tennis 5.3
Jankovic became the first woman to ever be ranked No. 1 without reaching a Grand Slam final in 2008. Last year she signed an apparel and shoe deal with China-based sportswear company Anta.

9. Paula Creamer, golf 5.2
Creamer missed the first half of 2010 with a thumb injury, but won her first major, the U.S. Open, in only her fourth tournament back from her layoff. Creamer's $7.7 million in career prize money is 12th-best of all time.

10. Lorena Ochoa, golf 5
Ochoa stunned the golf world in April when she announced her retirement from professional competition despite being ranked No. 1 on the LPGA Tour. She will continue to play and host the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, an LPGA event held annually in Guadalajara, Mexico.

[bangkokbobby]

By the way, the way they worded the Jelena Jankovic part...yes, she reached number one in 2008 without reaching a Grand Slam final...but that should be clarified...she reached #1 on August 11, 2008 without a Grand Slam final...but then reached the final of the US Open a few weeks later...

...I just like to point that out...just like when people come down on Anna Kournikova for "never winning a tournament" I point out she never won a WTA singles tournament, but she did win 16 WTA doubles tournaments, including two Majors and two WTA Championships...

[Blue]

Originally Posted by bangkokbobby

Her sponsor, Kookmin Bank, took out insurance on its $1 million bonus if Kim broke her world-record score at the Olympics. She smashed it..

A little off-topic, but I did not know they kept track of world record scores in skating. Is this something new?

On topic: No Wiesy in the top 10?

[xman5]

They have changed to a points based system.

[Buzzer]

Didn't they change the scoring system a few years back after the lady judge from France cheated in the old scoring sustem? It caused a big brouhaha involving the Russian and Canadian pair skaters. Both teams were given gold medals as a result.

Viva Annika

[bangkokbobby]

That's right. It was in response to 2002. The old 6.0 system is not in use. Now there is a technical judge who uses video replay to determine technical merit, for example position on take off and landing. Once that is determined the other judges grade on execution. Some of Yuna's fans were worried going in Vancouver because the technical judge they were using had downgraded a few of her jumps previously. No worries. Yuna took care of that by nailing her jumps.

I, too, thought Michelle might be on the list. She has been before. Maybe some of her existing contracts were front loaded. I don't know. I suspect she was probably close to making the top ten, as were tennis players with nice endorsement deals like Kim Clijsters and the injured Justine Henin. I'm curious to know what Yelena Isinbaeva, possibly the world's greatest woman athlete, makes.

[NTB]

Originally Posted by bangkokbobby

That's right. It was in response to 2002. The old 6.0 system is not in use. Now there is a technical judge who uses video replay to determine technical merit, for example position on take off and landing. Once that is determined the other judges grade on execution. Some of Yuna's fans were worried going in Vancouver because the technical judge they were using had downgraded a few of her jumps previously. No worries. Yuna took care of that by nailing her jumps.

I, too, thought Michelle might be on the list. She has been before. Maybe some of her existing contracts were front loaded. I don't know. I suspect she was probably close to making the top ten, as were tennis players with nice endorsement deals like Kim Clijsters and the injured Justine Henin. I'm curious to know what Yelena Isinbaeva, possibly the world's greatest woman athlete, makes.

You wouldn't think pole vaulting would bring a lot of money.
Great body though I looked her up on the web.

[bangkokbobby]

Originally Posted by notaxbill

You wouldn't think pole vaulting would bring a lot of money.
Great body though I looked her up on the web.

Yes, Isinbayeva's conditioning is world class. I did look up some info. She signed a contract with a Chinese apparel company that pays her 7.5 million, but that's over five years.

[NTB]

Originally Posted by bangkokbobby

Yes, Isinbayeva's conditioning is world class. I did look up some info. She signed a contract with a Chinese apparel company that pays her 7.5 million, but that's over five years.

BKB that ain't chump change. I could quit my day job.
By-The-Way, did My lil Kimmie Have a baby or am I misinformed?
If so can you find pictures of the child?

[cleo]

Originally Posted by bangkokbobby

I, too, thought Michelle might be on the list. She has been before. Maybe some of her existing contracts were front loaded. I don't know. I suspect she was probably close to making the top ten, as were tennis players with nice endorsement deals like Kim Clijsters and the injured Justine Henin. I'm curious to know what Yelena Isinbaeva, possibly the world's greatest woman athlete, makes.

or maybe Michelle Wie is over.