ESPN released its annual “World Fame 100” rankings this week, and a few Boston-based athletes cracked the 2019 list.
The rankings, which identify the 100 most famous athletes in the world, are based on a formula that took into account three factors: Search score, endorsement dollars and social media followers.
Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Conor McGregor comprise the top five. This isn’t entirely shocking, although it certainly speaks to the global popularity of soccer.
Tom Brady (No. 31) and Rob Gronkowski (No. 97) of the New England Patriots made the list as Boston athletes. So did Kyrie Irving (No. 47) of the Boston Celtics.
Brady, who ranked No. 38 in 2018, posted a search score of 35, earned $20 million in endorsements and compiled a social media following of 4.7 million. He’s sandwiched in the 2019 rankings by soccer stars Mohamed Salah (No. 30) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (No. 32).
Gronkowski, a newcomer to the rankings, posted a search score of 8, earned $8 million in endorsements and compiled a social media following of 3.0 million. He’s sandwiched in the 2019 rankings by soccer standout Robert Lewandowski (No. 96) and cricket sensation Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (No. 98).
Irving, who ranked No. 27 last year, posted a search score of 3, earned $17 million in endorsements and compiled a social media following of 12.3 million. He’s sandwiched in the 2019 rankings by Rohit Sharma (No. 46) and Radamel Falcao (No. 48) of cricket and soccer fame, respectively.
