Katie Ledecky is the world’s ninth most marketable athlete for the next three years, according to Great Britain’s SportsPro magazine.
The magazine published its full list of the 50 most marketable athletes through summer 2021 on Friday. It’s based on value for money, age, home market, charisma, willingness to be marketed and crossover appeal.
No. 1 is Paul Pogba, the Manchester United star who just won the World Cup with France. He’s followed by 2012 Olympic boxing champion and current world heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua of Great Britain, last year’s No. 1, and French teammate Kylian Mbappé of Paris Saint-Germain, who didn’t make the top 50 last year.
Other Olympians or Olympic hopefuls high on the list: Tennis player Alexander Zverev of Germany (No. 4), Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (No. 5), snowboarding gold medalist Chloe Kim (No. 7), gymnast Simone Biles (No. 15), Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin (No. 23), tennis player Naomi Osaka of Japan (No. 27), British swimmer Adam Peaty (No. 38) and British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith (No. 47)
Olympians to be named No. 1 before Joshua were Canadian tennis player Eugenie Bouchard in 2015, Brazilian soccer star Neymar in 2012 and 2013, Usain Bolt in 2011 and LeBron James in 2010, the first year of the rankings.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were left off last year’s list because they reached a long-cemented commercial peak, SportsPro said. They were also not on this year’s list. Neither was James and Serena Williams.
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