2010 Fortunate 50
Philip Rivers
San Diego Chargers (NFL)
Last Year's Rank: NR"In March, the Chargers' quarterback collected $13 million of his $19.6 million signing bonus from the six-year, $92 million deal he inked last summer; he'll get another $6 million option bonus next February."
(Salary: $25,600,000 / Endorsements: $250,000)
"Our findings consisted solely of salary, winnings, bonuses, endorsements and appearance fees. We consulted players' associations, tour records, agents and news reports. Our endorsement estimates for 2010 came from Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing, other sports-marketing executives and analysts, and agents. Salary figures were based on current or most recently completed seasons (the upcoming 2010 season for the NFL). For winnings-based sports (auto racing, golf, tennis), we used the '09 calendar year. Boxing purses are from July '09 to June 2010. Candidates for the U.S. 50 had to be American citizens and currently active in their sports."