Future Fortunates

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
May 15, 2013

Future Fortunates

Mike Trout

<italics>Here are 10 stars who didn't quite make the Fortunate 50 this year, but are sure to appear on the list in the years to come.</italics> As everyone knows, and as many a baseball blog has complained about, L.A.'s breakout star is making a meager $510,000 this season. But his time will soon come when the Angels sit down to hammer out a new contract, and Trout also seems like obvious endorsement deal bait.

Blake Griffin

This season, the new dunking king of the NBA is making less than $8 million, but for next year he'll more than double that with a salary of $16.4 million, which means he'll almost certainly make the 50. You also may have noticed that between Subway, Kia, and AT&T ads, you can't avoid seeing him on your television.

Andrew Luck

Luck's salary for last season, his first, was $14.908 million, including a big signing bonus. He's avoided signing too many endorsement deals, which is what kept him off the list this year, but if he gives in and just adds a few big ones in the near future, he'll get on there.

Robert Griffin III

RGIII didn't get quite as large a deal as Luck, making $14.189 million for his debut season, but pair that with the $3.3 million he gets from an endorsement portfolio that is much larger than Luck's (Adidas, EA, Subway, Gatorade, Nissan, Castrol Oil, and EvoShield) and it's no wonder that only four pro athletes were between Griffin and #50 this year. If he adds some more deals, you'll see him in the Top 50 for years to come.

Jake Peavy

The 31-year-old righty is only the third-highest earning player on the White Sox, after fellow pitcher John Danks and infielder Adam Dunn, but he may have the most promise of any. Through seven starts, Peavy is 5-1 with a 2.96 ERA and a 51:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Fortunate 50 list is always chock full of pitchers (10 of them this year), and Peavy could join their ranks if he adds some local sponsors and deals to his $14.5 million salary next season.

Russell Westbrook

Westbrook is earning $13.67 million on-court this season, and has some deals with Jordan Brand, Levi's (they've even been promoting a #501westbrook hashtag) and others. If he comes back healthy next season and helps Durant lead OKC far into the pPlayoffs, you might see him finally make the Fortunate 50 list for the first time.

Clay Buchholz

The 28-year-old Red Sox pitcher is at the height of his prowess, with a 1.69 ERA as of May 12. The Red Sox got him cheap, spending less than $30 million to lock him in through 2015. For now his salary is low, but it grows exponentially each year; in the 2015 season he'll get $12 million, then $13 million in 2016 with a club option. Young, shaggy-haired and likable, if he picks up some local endorsement deals he could eventually eke on to our list.

Stephen Curry

The explosive young Warriors guard leading his team deep into the postseason right now is only making $4 million in salary (it doesn't seem right!) and you don't yet see him much in advertisements?expect that to change very soon. By the 2015-2016 season he'll be up to almost $12 million in salary, so if he becomes one of the league's top endorsers, which is certainly possible, you'll see him among the 50.

Hanley Ramirez

As if there aren't already enough Dodgers among baseball's richest (four this year), shortstop Hanley Ramirez was very close, with his $15.5 million in salary this season. Next season, it'll go up to $16 million. His hamstring injury might mean he's already out for the season, but it would only take a little bit in endorsement money to bump him up into the 50 next season.

Brandt Snedeker

He may just fade away, but Snedeker, 32, has been the biggest thorn in Tiger's side for more than a year. In the period we measured for this year's list he was #2 for tour winnings, with $6.70 million?barely more than a million dollars below Woods. He's a charismatic guy and has a slew of sponsors (Bridgestone, Wyndham, MasterCard) so if he keeps winning on the green, he could earn enough green to be the first golfer apart from Tiger and Phil to make the list... ever.