SportsPulse: Trysta Krick on why the Cleveland Browns being the subject of this season's 'Hard Knocks' series will make for great TV, but won't help the team win games. USA TODAY Sports
ESPN released its third annual "World Fame 100" list on Tuesday, ranking the most prominent worldwide names in sports, and there were several football players on the list — just not American football players. And not one baseball player was featured among the 100 athletes.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, at No. 38, was the highest-ranked NFL player. Only seven NFL players made the list.
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo was the No. 1 name, ahead of second-place Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James and fellow soccer players Lionel Messi (No. 3) and Neymar (No. 4). In total, 32 of the 100 names were soccer players, including 18 of the top 50. No female athletes were in the top 10, with Serena Williams ranked No. 12.
ESPN's methodology behind the rankings was based on a proprietary formula of three factors: Google trend score, social media following and endorsement dollars.
Ten cricket players were ranked, and ESPN explained that nine of the 10 cricketers are from India, whose population exceeds 1.3 billion.
MMA star Conor McGregor was ranked No. 18. Former MMA-turned WWE star Ronda Rousey fell off the list.
Tiger Woods, who has excelled in his comeback at full health, was No. 6, while fellow golfer Phil Mickelson made it into the top 10. Tennis players Roger Federer (No. 5) and Rafael Nadal (No. 8) also cracked the top 10.
Golden State Warriors teammates Kevin Durant (No. 7) and Steph Curry (No. 9) also were top-10 worthy. Of the 13 NBA players, Derrick Rose at No. 36 was peculiar, but that's credited to his No. 18 rank in endorsement dollars through his unusual Adidas contract.
