Football is the most popular sport in America, but it’s a niche interest compared to other sports around the world. Baseball, basketball, soccer, and cricket draw bigger global followings, and it’s sometimes humbling to see just how football compares to those other professional spots.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is a household name in America, and one of the most-respected players in the NFL. But when stacked up against the world’s elite athletes, he clocked in at No. 71 in ESPN’s ‘World Fame 100’.
This is the fourth edition of ESPN’s issue ranking athletes in three big categories: social media following, endorsement earnings, and how frequently they appear in search engines. For context, Brees has a social media audience of 3.1 million people, and he brings in $13 million through his endorsement deals. Those are respectable numbers, but nowhere near the top.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the top-ranked NFL player on the list, at No. 31. His social media following tops 4.7 million, and his endorsement earnings total $20 million. Not bad for the six-time Super Bowl champion, who’s been fortunate to not face — and surely lose to — Brees in any of those title games.
But back to the list. Christiano Ronaldo sets the bar for everyone else with a hard-to-visualize social media audience of 148 million followers. His endorsement earnings are even more prodigious at $37 million. The lesson here is very clear: encourage your kids to play soccer, not just football. They just might cash in someday.
