LeBron James tops Tiger Woods on Forbes list of athlete brands

LeBron James. PHOTO/Getty Images

Basketball superstar LeBron James has become the biggest personal brand in sport, ending six years of Tiger Woods’ dominance according to Forbes Magazine.

The Forbes Fab 40: The Most Valuable Sports Brands of 2014 was released on Tuesday, listing the top 10 sports brands by business, events, teams and athletes.

The magazine said “King James” pulled in US$53 million off the court during the past year and estimated his brand is worth US$37 million, the amount his endorsement and non-basketball earnings exceeded the average of the top 10 off-court earners in the NBA.

Woods had held the top spot on the list since 2007. His drop to No. 2 was related more to the end of his long-standing relationship with video game maker Electronic Arts than his injury-riddled year on the golf course.

The top 10 biggest athlete brands in world sport and their value in 2014:
– 1. LeBron James – $US37 million
– 2. Tiger Woods -$US36 million
– 3. Roger Federer – $US32 million
– 4. Phil Mickelson – $US29 million
– 5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni – $US20 million
– 6. Usain Bolt – $US19 million
7. Cristiano Ronaldo – $US17 million
8. Kobe Bryant – $US15 million
9. Lionel Messi – $US12 million
10. Rafael Nadal – $US10 million