A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

Tiger Woods and LeBron James are the first athletes to become billionaires while still active in their sport-paving the way for a new generation of player-tycoons.

- MATT CRAIG AND CHASE PETERSON-WITHORN

IT has been a quarter-century since Tiger Woods first donned the green jacket of a Masters champion, and 20 years since a teenage LeBron James, still only in high school, suited up for his first nationally televised basketball game.

Triumph, injury, scandal, failure and triumph again have followed, in various order, for both. Through it all each has remained at the economic pinnacle of his sport: Over their careers the two legends have raked in a combined $2.9 billion ($1.7 billion for Woods, $1.2 billion for James) in salary, endorsements and other income.

This run of success has turned both champions into billionaires—a feat never previously achieved by any active athlete. (Michael Jordan, the only other athlete-billionaire, didn’t hit ten figures until after he retired, thanks to a well-timed investment in the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets.)

Woods, 46, amassed his estimated $1 billion fortune primarily through enormous endorsement deals with brands like Nike, Gatorade and Rolex. He has also assembled an impressive real estate portfolio and owns chunks of businesses including a Jupiter, Florida, restaurant called The Woods and an operator of upscale minigolf courses that has plans to expand nationwide.