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Pair of Badgers Make ESPN’s Fame List

By Noah Seligman

Russell Wilson arrives at the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Sports 2015 held at the UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Westwood, CA on Thursday, July 16, 2015. (Photo By Sthanlee B. Mirador) *** Please Use Credit from Credit Field ***
Russell Wilson arrives at the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Sports 2015 held at the UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Westwood, CA on Thursday, July 16, 2015. (Photo By Sthanlee B. Mirador) *** Please Use Credit from Credit Field *** /
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ESPN announces its second ever listing of the most famous athletes in the world

ESPN recently posted its list of the most famous athletes and a couple of former Badger football players are on the list.

ESPN’s list is assembled based on a “formula created by ESPN director of sports analytics Ben Alamar.”  The ranking tries to establish a total composite based on endorsement earnings, social media presence, and Google web traffic.  The list excludes salary since there is such a difference across sports in salary structure.  Likewise, retired athletes are not factored into the list.  ESPN considered Forbes list of the richest athletes and consulted with journalists across the world.

Russell Wilson checked in at #55 having racked up $10 million in endorsement dollars.  His followers across social media include 2.9 million on Instagram, 3.2 million on twitter, and 2.2 million on Facebook.  Wilson is #55 overall but the fourth most popular NFL player overall.  He slid back six places from 2016.

"…in his second pro season, he became the NFL’s most popular player in terms of licensed products sold.  Despite that, he might be only the second-most famous person in his household since marrying singer/actress Ciara last year."

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At present, Wilson has the 12th most popular jersey at the NFL’s official online shop.  Fitting seeing as how many of the (20)12th man Seattle fans rushed to acquire #3 jerseys jumping on the Seahawks bandwagon after Wilson’s success.

He rated 6th on the NFL Player’s Association (NFLPA) year-end list in terms of total merchandise sold.  The NFLPA’s list is “based on total sales of officially licensed NFL player merchandise.”

J.J. Watt was ranked at #74 overall and the final NFL player on the list.  Watt had $7 million in endorsement dollars.  His social media followers include 2.5 million on Instagram, 1.9 million on Facebook, and 3.2 million on Twitter.

"Watt is one of the most feared players in the NFL, a sack-happy defensive end whose size, strength, and quickness create matchup problems for even the most adept offenses.  The Houston Texans stalwart started 83 consecutive games to begin his career and was seemingly indestructible until a back injury cut his season short in 2016."

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Watt actually slid back from #56 on ESPN list from 2016.  He ranks 25th on the list of the top selling jerseys in the NFL’s online store.  He ranked 13th on the NFLPA’s list from merchandise total sales.