2016 Most Popular Athletes - ESPN World Fame 100
ESPN have been calculating the world's most popular athletes since 2016, using a ranking based on a proprietary formula which factors online searches, salary and endorsements and social media followers. The winner of this inaugural list was footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. We have also listed the top-ranked athlete from each sport and from each country that was on the list.
List of Top-10 most famous sports people of 2016
Here is the top-10 of the World's most famous sports people. Income and followers are listed as millions. Search popularity was also factored into the ranking. There were just eight women on the list, the highest ranked was Maria Sharapova at 18th.
| Name | Sport | Nationality | Winnings | Endorsements | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Soccer | Portugal | 53 | 27 | 110.8 | 41.5 |
| 2. | LeBron James | Basketball | USA | 23 | 44 | 22.4 | 29.6 |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | Soccer | Argentina | 52 | 22 | 84.3 | 13.5 |
| 4 | Neymar | Soccer | Brazil | 12 | 17 | 56.4 | 22.1 |
| 5 | Roger Federer | Tennis | Switzerland | 9 | 58 | 14.5 | 4.7 |
| 6 | Kevin Durant | Basketball | USA | 20 | 35 | 10.1 | 13.5 |
| 7 | Tiger Woods | Golf | USA | 1 | 50 | 3.1 | 5.7 |
| 8 | Virat Kohli | Cricket | India | 7 | 18 | 28.3 | 10.7 |
| 9 | James Rodriguez | Soccer | Colombia | 10 | 5 | 29.7 | 9.6 |
| 10 | Rafael Nadal | Tennis | Spain | 5 | 28 | 14.6 | 9.3 |
The Most Famous For Each Country
Here is the most famous sports people for each country in 2016, taken from the top 100 list. There were athletes from 15 different countries represented on the list, though more than half of the sports people were from the USA.
| Nationality | Name | Sport | Winnings | Endorsements | overall rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Lionel Messi | Soccer | 52 | 22 | 84.3 | 13.5 | 3 |
| Belgium | Eden Hazard | Soccer | 15 | 4 | 8.6 | 4.4 | 42 |
| Brazil | Neymar | Soccer | 12 | 17 | 56.4 | 22.1 | 4 |
| Canada | Sidney Crosby | Ice Hockey | 12 | 5 | .005 | 0.12 | 82 |
| Colombia | James Rodriguez | Soccer | 10 | 5 | 29.7 | 9.6 | 9 |
| Dominican Republic | David ortiz | Baseball | 16 | 4 | 1.9 | 1 | 78 |
| England | Wayne Rooney | Soccer | 18 | 7 | 25.5 | 12.8 | 17 |
| Finland | Kimi Raikkonen | Auto Racing | 17 | 2 | 0.33 | - | 97 |
| Germany | Mesut Ozil | Soccer | 10 | 7 | 29.9 | 10.6 | 19 |
| India | Virat Kohli | Cricket | 7 | 18 | 28.3 | 10.7 | 8 |
| Ireland | Conner McGregor | MMA | 1 | 3 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 37 |
| Ivory Coast | Yaya Toure | Soccer | 15 | 3 | 1.2 | 0.23 | 86 |
| Jamaica | Usain Bolt | Athletics | 0 | 21 | 17.1 | 4 | 15 |
| Japan | Kei Nishikori | Tennis | 4 | 15 | 0.64 | 0.33 | 47 |
| Mexico | Canelo Alvarez | Boxing | 20 | 2 | 1.4 | 0.57 | 84 |
| New Zealand | Lydia Ko | Golf | 3 | 4 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 81 |
| Northern Ireland | Rory McIlroy | Golf | 5 | 32 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 20 |
| Philippines | Manny Pacquiao | Boxing | 148 | 12 | 10.6 | 0.03 | 35 |
| Portugal | Cristiano Ronaldo | Soccer | 53 | 27 | 110.8 | 41.5 | 1 |
| Russia | Maria Sharapova | Tennis | 8 | 23 | 15.5 | 2.1 | 18 |
| Scotland | Andy Murray | Tennis | 8 | 16 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 31 |
| Serbia | Novak Djokovic | Tennis | 21 | 31 | 6.6 | 5.2 | 16 |
| Spain | Rafael Nadal | Tennis | 5 | 28 | 14.6 | 9.3 | 10 |
| Sweden | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Soccer | 17 | 6 | 24.1 | 3.4 | 21 |
| Switzerland | Roger Federer | Tennis | 9 | 58 | 14.5 | 4.7 | 5 |
| Ukraine | Wladimir Klitschko | Boxing | 19 | 4 | 1.9 | 0.27 | 80 |
| USA | LeBron James | Basketball | 23 | 44 | 22.4 | 29.6 | 2 |
| US Virgin Islands | Tim Duncan | Basketball | 5 | 2 | 0.06 | 0.0004 | 90 |
| Uruguay | Luis Suarez | Soccer | 15 | 5 | 16.8 | 6.2 | 22 |
| Venezuela | Miguel Cabrera | Baseball | 22 | 3 | 0.003 | 0.7 | 88 |
| Wales | Gareth Bale | Soccer | 21 | 10 | 25.7 | 8 | 12 |
The most famous for each sport
Here is the most famous sports people for each sport taken from the top 100 list in 2016. On the top-100 list, basketball was the most highly represented sport with 20 players, next was soccer (17) and American Football (16).
| Sport | Name | Nationality | Winnings | Endorsements | overall rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Football | Cam Newton | USA | 13 | 11 | 1.9 | 0.72 | 32 |
| Athletics | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | 0 | 21 | 17.1 | 4 | 15 |
| Auto Racing | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | USA | 15 | 9 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 57 |
| Baseball | Bryce Harper | USA | 3 | 4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 71 |
| Basketball | LeBron James | USA | 23 | 44 | 22.4 | 29.6 | 2 |
| Boxing | Floyd Mayweather | USA | 300 | 15 | 12.7 | 6.8 | 26 |
| Cricket | Virat Kohli | India | 7 | 18 | 28.3 | 10.7 | 8 |
| Golf | Tiger Woods | USA | 1 | 50 | 3.1 | 5.7 | 7 |
| Ice Hockey | Alex Ovechkin | Russia | 10 | 4 | 0.13 | 2 | 65 |
| MMA | Ronda Rousey | USA | 3 | 4 | 10.9 | 2.3 | 23 |
| Skateboarding | Ryan Sheckler | USA | 2 | 1 | 34 | 2.7 | 64 |
| Snowboarding | Shaun White | USA | 0 | 2 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 76 |
| Soccer | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 53 | 27 | 110.8 | 41.5 | 1 |
| Swimming | Michael Phelps | USA | 0 | 6 | 7.7 | 1.6 | 46 |
| Tennis | Roger Federer | Switzerland | 9 | 58 | 14.5 | 4.7 | 5 |
References
- The full top 100 list was originally published on the ESPN website
Related Pages
- Discussion about the world's most popular athletes
- about ESPN World Fame 100 and list of winners
- lists of most popular sports
- Highest paid athletes
- Greatest Athletes of All Time
- sporting heroes
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