20. Nastia Liukin, USA Gymnast
Nastia Liukin is still active in commercials six years after winning the gold medal in the All-Around at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China.
Nastia Liukin is still active in commercials six years after winning the gold medal in the All-Around at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China.
Hulk Hogan, who just appeared on WWE Monday Night Raw Monday night, has been a cultural icon for 30 years.
The leading goal scorer in the NHL, Alexander Ovechkin was a focus of marketing attention at the recent Winter Olympics in his home country of Russia. He is also engaged to tennis player Maria Kirilenko.
Michael Strahan has transitioned from a fearsome pass rusher to a co-host with Kelly Ripa on morning television, as well as a studio analyst for FOX NFL telecasts.
Michael Sam announced he was gay after the college football season ended. The SEC Player of the Year was much talked about at the recent NFL Scouting Combine and have earned praise from celebrities and athletes all over the world.
Kobe Bryant has been on both ends of the popularity scale, but he's still a well-known commodity late in his NBA career.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was NASCAR's most popular driver and a star of commercials left and right even before winning last Sunday's Daytona 500.
One of the greatest NBA players of all time and a long-term survivor of the HIV virus, Magic Johnson has become known the world over.
A three-time Super Bowl champion and married to a supermodel, Tom Brady has the life just about every guy would ask for.
Shaquille O'Neal, and whatever his nickname is this week, was a four-time NBA champion, is active in commercials, and is a studio analyst on TNT.
An 18-time gold medalist, Michael Phelps is one of the naton's best known athletes and figures to stay in the public eye for years to come given his young age (28).
With a few more NBA titles and the accolades that go with them, Lebron James figures to move up this list if it's done again in 10 years.
From serving jail time to appearing in The Hangover, Iron Mike Tyson has been a lot of things to a lot of people. Rightly or wrongly, there's no chance of him fading away any time soon.
Deion Sanders played in two major professional sports, does commercials, and is a studio analyst on NFL Network. Everyone knows "Primetime."
It could be all different for Alex Rodriguez, he could have been a true American icon. But steroid issues have dogged him for years, and he's more known for that now than his lofty career statistics.
A Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Peyton Manning has been in every commercial ever. OK, not really, but it sure seems that way, doesn't it?
Anyone who grew up in the 1980s or 1990s knew that Bo Jackson knew everything. The multi-sport star left the stage early due to injury, but is still revered as one of the great athletes of his generation.
Michael Jordan set a modern standard with six NBA titles in eight years in Chicago, and his legacy is clearly seen in the continued success of Air Jordans and "Space Jam."
Much like Jordan in the 1990s, Tiger Woods combined with Nike in the 2000s to create a global brand. Personal problems sent Woods' career south for a while, but a major win would bring the brand storming back.
The original greatest of all time was Muhammad Ali, who thrilled boxing fans throughout the 1960s and 1970s and even now in his elder age, is an international icon even to those who never saw him fight.
