Woods Tops List Of Most Marketable Athletes In '08

All athletes worry about maximizing their performance in a career that, for many, can be heartbreakingly short.

But only a handful fret about whether they have what it takes to be the most marketable in the land.

What are the keys to entrancing corporate America? Keith Lambrecht, director of sport management programs at Loyola University Chicago, sees three crucial aspects.

Here are eight U.S. athletes poised to score big in endorsements in 2008:

1. Tiger Woods
Woods, whose annual endorsement income is estimated to top $100 million thanks to Nike, Buick and other successful suitors, will maintain his leading role as the top pitchman in all sports. He is becoming more appealing as he ages -- the fact that he's a family man with baby Sam Alexis has humanized this once-robotic superstar. The chance that the U.S. will recover the Ryder Cup on home soil in Louisville -- and that Woods may, for once, play to his potential in that tournament -- is an added bonus for those looking to sign him.

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