Serena Williams Tops Nielsen Rankings Of Most Marketable Athletes Of '17

Spurred on by her win at the Australian Open in January, and the announcement that she was pregnant while doing so, Serena Williams was the most marketable athlete of '17, according to rankings released by Nielsen. The "N-Score" assesses the endorsement and casting value of potential actors, athletes, musicians and other celebrities in the U.S. Williams has more than 22.6 million social media followers and was the highest-paid female athlete in '17, and also signed a new endorsement deal with Intel. Following Williams at No. 2 was her older sister, Venus, Cavaliers F LeBron James, Giants QB Eli Manning and Patriots QB Tom Brady.