They say money can't buy you happiness, but if it can, Tiger Woods' year is going a lot better than most would think.
Sports Illustrated unveiled its "Fortunate 50," its annual list of the top-50 highest-earning athletes in sports. Despite losing out on millions in endorsements, the world's No. 1 golfer topped the list yet again.
It's the seventh year that SI has compiled the list using athletes' salary and/or winnings and endorsement values to rank the top earners.
To put it into perspective, Woods earned $9 million less than he did in 2009, but still beat out Phil Mickelson who finished in the second spot on the list by almost $30 million.
As far as team sports goes, it shouldn't be surprising to anyone — especially in New England — that Boston and New York filled the list.
Counting new Celtics center Jermaine O'Neal and Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire — both of whom signed this offseason — Boston and New York each landed eight athletes on the list.
Not surprisingly, the highest-ranked athlete of the two cities was Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez who brought in $33 million last year in salary alone. Rodriguez made the list at No. 5 followed closely behind by Derek Jeter who made $31 million combined in salary and endorsements.
The highest-earning Boston athlete was Celtics forward Kevin Garnett checking in at No. 15 on the list. KG brought in over $26 million last year, $10 million of that coming from endorsements.
Other Boston athletes making the list were: O'Neal (22), John Lackey (26), Paul Pierce (27), Ray Allen (37), Vince Wilfork (38), Josh Beckett (43) and David Ortiz (47).
