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Sports Illustrated just released their Fortunate 50 – a list of the top-earning athletes in America.
Their Top 5 was not that surprising with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, LeBron James, Peyton Manning, and Alex Rodriguez leading off the list.
SI.com factored in contract cash along with endorsement deals to get their grand totals. Some of the names on the list were shocking, seeing how high or how low their total earnings were. But as sports bettors, we have to add in another factor into the mix: Money made.
Here are three players who should be paid more according to their value to sports bettors, and three others who should dig deep into those fat-ass pockets and give gamblers their money back:
Three players worth it to wagering:
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (Earnings $32,700,000 – 8th)
Matty Ice has done nothing but cover since taking over the starting job in Atlanta. Since 2008, Ryan’s rookie year, the Falcons are 31-17 ATS including back-to-back 11-5 ATS seasons in 2009 and 2010. Ryan earns $32,250,000 for taking snaps and only $450,000 from endorsements. Perhaps his agents should start targeting Ryan’s biggest fan base: Sports bettors.
Jimmie Johnson (Earnings $19,264,780 – 32nd)
NASCAR betting isn’t the most popular choice among the wagering community, but if you jumped on the No. 48 car back in 2006, before J.J. won five straight Sprint Cup Championships, you’d probably have enough coin to start your own racing team. In that five-year span, Johnson has won 35 races, placed inside the Top 5 81 times, and has posted a Top-10 finish in 117 of 180 races he’s started. That’s a winning percentage of 19.4, a Top-5 percentage of 45, and a Top-10 percentage of 65.
Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies (Earnings $17,766,666 – 37th)
Z-Bo put his money where sportsbooks’ mouths are, helping the Grizzlies to a stellar 52-29-1 ATS mark in the regular season and an 8-4-1 record against the spread in the postseason. Randolph, who averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds this year, makes a cool $17,666,666 from Memphis and even more for its backers. Not bad from a guy who wasn’t ranked on the Fortunate 50 list last year.
Three players wasting everyone’s money:
Barry Zito, San Francisco Giants (Earnings $18,600,000 – 33rd)
Sports Illustrated had an interesting note along with Zito’s total earnings, stating that the combined salaries of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez just barely eclipse the veteran pitcher’s paycheck. Zito hasn’t pitched since the middle of April due to a foot injury and was 0-1 with an ERA north of 6.00 in his first three appearances of the season. Since signing the monster deal with San Fran in 2007, the Giants are 62-72 in games he started and down -1.06 units.
Gilbert Arenas, Orlando Magic (Earnings $17,980,694 – 36th)
Oh man, has there ever been such a waste of money in the history of the NBA (maybe that stupid new ball a couple years back)? Arenas signed an $111 million deal over six years with the Wizards in 2008, hobbling over to sign the contract on one good leg after playing only 13 games the previous season. He has gone on to play just 104 games since the ink dried, pulled a gun on a teammate, got busted gambling on road trips, and then was sent to Orlando, where he helped the Magic finish the 2010-11 season with a 35-46-1 ATS mark, scoring just over 10 points per game off the bench.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Earnings $26,572,930 – 13th)
It’s crazy how the most popular driver in NASCAR can suck so bad. Earnhardt has always been a huge fan favorite, thanks in part to his father’s legacy in the sport. But because of that, he’s also been very overrated. Lil’ E has only 18 wins since joining the Cup Series back in 1998 and hasn’t won a points race since June 2008. He earned $4,572,930 for driving a car and another $22,000,000 for standing next to it as a pitchman. He’s been a one-trick pony on restrictor-plate races and posted only five Top-5 showings and 13 Top-10 finishes in 2010 and 2009, despite commanding respect from NASCAR oddsmakers every weekend. Things are looking up for the No. 88 (which still looks weird). He’s third in the points heading into Sunday, with three Top 5s and eighth Top 10s.
Who else on The Fortunate 50 deserves some praise or hate for their contributions to your bankroll?
Their Top 5 was not that surprising with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, LeBron James, Peyton Manning, and Alex Rodriguez leading off the list.
SI.com factored in contract cash along with endorsement deals to get their grand totals. Some of the names on the list were shocking, seeing how high or how low their total earnings were. But as sports bettors, we have to add in another factor into the mix: Money made.
Here are three players who should be paid more according to their value to sports bettors, and three others who should dig deep into those fat-ass pockets and give gamblers their money back:
Three players worth it to wagering:
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (Earnings $32,700,000 – 8th)
Matty Ice has done nothing but cover since taking over the starting job in Atlanta. Since 2008, Ryan’s rookie year, the Falcons are 31-17 ATS including back-to-back 11-5 ATS seasons in 2009 and 2010. Ryan earns $32,250,000 for taking snaps and only $450,000 from endorsements. Perhaps his agents should start targeting Ryan’s biggest fan base: Sports bettors.
Jimmie Johnson (Earnings $19,264,780 – 32nd)
NASCAR betting isn’t the most popular choice among the wagering community, but if you jumped on the No. 48 car back in 2006, before J.J. won five straight Sprint Cup Championships, you’d probably have enough coin to start your own racing team. In that five-year span, Johnson has won 35 races, placed inside the Top 5 81 times, and has posted a Top-10 finish in 117 of 180 races he’s started. That’s a winning percentage of 19.4, a Top-5 percentage of 45, and a Top-10 percentage of 65.
Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies (Earnings $17,766,666 – 37th)
Z-Bo put his money where sportsbooks’ mouths are, helping the Grizzlies to a stellar 52-29-1 ATS mark in the regular season and an 8-4-1 record against the spread in the postseason. Randolph, who averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds this year, makes a cool $17,666,666 from Memphis and even more for its backers. Not bad from a guy who wasn’t ranked on the Fortunate 50 list last year.
Three players wasting everyone’s money:
Barry Zito, San Francisco Giants (Earnings $18,600,000 – 33rd)
Sports Illustrated had an interesting note along with Zito’s total earnings, stating that the combined salaries of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez just barely eclipse the veteran pitcher’s paycheck. Zito hasn’t pitched since the middle of April due to a foot injury and was 0-1 with an ERA north of 6.00 in his first three appearances of the season. Since signing the monster deal with San Fran in 2007, the Giants are 62-72 in games he started and down -1.06 units.
Gilbert Arenas, Orlando Magic (Earnings $17,980,694 – 36th)
Oh man, has there ever been such a waste of money in the history of the NBA (maybe that stupid new ball a couple years back)? Arenas signed an $111 million deal over six years with the Wizards in 2008, hobbling over to sign the contract on one good leg after playing only 13 games the previous season. He has gone on to play just 104 games since the ink dried, pulled a gun on a teammate, got busted gambling on road trips, and then was sent to Orlando, where he helped the Magic finish the 2010-11 season with a 35-46-1 ATS mark, scoring just over 10 points per game off the bench.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Earnings $26,572,930 – 13th)
It’s crazy how the most popular driver in NASCAR can suck so bad. Earnhardt has always been a huge fan favorite, thanks in part to his father’s legacy in the sport. But because of that, he’s also been very overrated. Lil’ E has only 18 wins since joining the Cup Series back in 1998 and hasn’t won a points race since June 2008. He earned $4,572,930 for driving a car and another $22,000,000 for standing next to it as a pitchman. He’s been a one-trick pony on restrictor-plate races and posted only five Top-5 showings and 13 Top-10 finishes in 2010 and 2009, despite commanding respect from NASCAR oddsmakers every weekend. Things are looking up for the No. 88 (which still looks weird). He’s third in the points heading into Sunday, with three Top 5s and eighth Top 10s.
Who else on The Fortunate 50 deserves some praise or hate for their contributions to your bankroll?
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