Woods and Mickelson lead the way among U.S. sports earners

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Average earnings for leading athletes in the United States have dropped for the first time in six years, according to Sports Illustrated magazine.

In a list of the 50 top-earning American athletes -- based on salary, winnings, endorsements and appearance fees -- the mean was down by $1.5 million to $23.6 million per athlete.

However, the drop was primarily affected by the leading two names in the standings, golfers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, Sports Illustrated reported on Wednesday.

Both Americans failed to match their on-course income in 2008 from the previous season, especially world number one Woods who was sidelined for eight months while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.

Woods earned $5.775 million on last year's PGA Tour, compared to $10.867 million in 2007.

Second-ranked Mickelson had a less substantial dropoff, winning three times on the 2007 PGA Tour for earnings of $5.819 million before triumphing twice and taking in $5.188 million last year.

AUTO TURMOIL

The deteriorating economy is likely to be an increasingly significant factor in the standings going forward. Turmoil in the auto industry led to General Motors Corp and Woods ending their Buick endorsement deal at the end of last year.

Next best on the Sports Illustrated list of top earners was Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player LeBron James with New York Yankees baseball slugger Alex Rodriguez in fourth place.

The top 50 earners comprised 22 basketball players, 14 baseball players, nine NFL players, three golfers and two NASCAR drivers.

Sports Illustrated based its findings on consultation with players' associations, tour records, agents and news reports, plus estimates from Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing.

Salaries and winnings were based on the current or most recently completed seasons. In sports such as golf, tennis and motor racing, the 2008 season applied.

Top 10 earners among American athletes, according to Sports Illustrated magazine:

1. Tiger Woods (golf) $99,737,626

2. Phil Mickelson (golf) $52,950,356

3. LeBron James (NBA) $42,410,581