According to ESPN, the list is based on three major factors – endorsement, search score and social media followers.

The figures obtained for the endorsements range from both ESPN and Forbes, with the search score measured on how often their name was searched into Google and taking an average of their peak score.

While the social following they claim is taken from their most popular social media account.

1 – Cristiano Ronaldo – endorsements: $52.2m – search score – 100 – social media following – 148m

2 – LeBron James – endorsements: $73.4m – search score: 47 – social media following: 45.3m

3 – Lionel Messi – endorsements: $39.4m – search score: 54 – social media following: 103.1m

4 – Neymar – endorsements: $27.2m – search score: 55 – social media following: 107.2m

5 – Conor McGregor – endorsements: $21m – search score: 100 – social media following: 29.7m

6- Roger Federer – endorsements: $58.5m – search score: 23 – social media following: 14.5m

7 – Virat Kohli – endorsements: $28.1m – search score: 25 – social media following: 37.1m

8 – Rafael Nadal – endorsements: $41.3m – search score: 40 – social media following: 15.6m

9 – Stephen Curry – endorsements: $59.3m – search score: 12 – social media following: 23m

10 – Tiger Woods – endorsements: $59.3m – search score: 20 – social media following: 6.4m

Read more at: https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/ronaldo-messi-mcgregor-espn-announce-2019s-top-20-most-famous-athletes/news-story/96ca5bfd68f969fbde5f7f29fb46ce74

Categories: Uncategorized