Legal Commentary

How much did you say he made?

By Tom Kirkendall

Except for the incredibly large amounts, there are no surprises at the top of Golf Digest's annual list (H/T Geoff Shackelford) of professional golf's top 50 money earners from both prize money and endorsement income.

Tiger Woods ($117 mil total/$110 mil endorsements), Phil Mickelson ($45 mil/$38.5 mil endorsements) and Vijay Singh ($$43 mil/$26 mil endorsements) lead the way, while Arnold Palmer ($30 mil in endorsement income!) and Greg Norman ($25 mil in endorsements) rounding out the top five.

And, by the way, Golf Digest calculates that Woods has earned close to $900 million in winnings and endorsements since 1996.

Although there aren't any surprises in the Top Ten earners, there are certainly a few down the list a bit.

For example, can anyone explain to me how 12th-ranked Retief Goosen -- who induces sleep whenever interviewed -- managed to generate $9 million in endorsement income?

Or how 34th-ranked Rory Sabbatini -- one of the most boorish players on the Tour -- generated $3.5 million in endorsement income, which is $1.5 million more than 35th-ranked Geoff Ogilvy, who is one of the most pleasant players on the Tour?

Maybe Katie Couric at $15 million a year is a bargain for CBS News, after all?

Full post as published by Houston's Clear Thinkers on January 04, 2009 (boomark / email).