NOTE: No. 50 MLB's Gang of Six includes '98 MLB free agents Mo Vaughn, Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, Mike Piazza, Bernie Williams and Albert Belle (TSN, 12/14 issue). In examining the list, the CANADIAN PRESS wrote, "Athletes and women did not fare very well" (CANADIAN PRESS, 12/9).
| RK | NAME | ORGANIZATION/POSITION | '96 | '97 |
| 1) | Rupert Murdoch | News. Corp. CEO | 6 | 2 |
| 2) | Paul Tagliabue | NFL Commissioner | 16 | 10 |
| 3) | Michael Eisner | Disney Chair & CEO | 5 | 6 |
| 4) | Michael Jordan | Bulls G | 27 | 1 |
| 5) | Bud Selig | MLB Commissioner | 22 | 18 |
| 6) | Chase Carey | News Corp. co-COO/Fox TV CEO | 25 | 30 |
| 7) | Steve Bornstein | ESPN Chair/ABC Sports Pres. | 3 | 8 |
| 8) | Charles Dolan | Cablevision Chair | NR | NR |
| | James Dolan | Cablevision CEO | 19 | 27 |
| 9) | Mark McGwire | MLB Cardinals 1B | NR | 91 |
| 10) | Dick Ebersol | NBC Sports Chair | 1 | 4 |
| 11) | John Malone | TCI Chair & CEO | 11 | 11 |
| 12) | David Stern | NBA Commissioner | 8 | 3 |
| 13) | Ted Turner | Time Warner Vice Chair | 5 | 7 |
| 14) | David Falk | FAME President & CEO | 17 | 15 |
| 15) | Donald Fehr | MLBPA Exec Dir | 9 | 17 |
| 16) | Phil Guarascio | GM VP/Marketing & Adv. | 10 | 9 |
| 17) | Leigh Steinberg | Steinberg & Moorad/Partner | 14 | 16 |
| 18) | Philip Anschutz | NHL Kings co-Owner; MLS Fire, Rapids, Galaxy Operator | NR | NR |
| 19) | Phil Knight | Nike Chair & CEO | 2 | 7 |
| 20) | Mark McCormack | IMG Founder & CEO | 4 | 13 |
| 21) | Gary Bettman | NHL Commissioner | 18 | 12 |
| 22) | Chuck Fruit | Coca-Cola VP/Mktg & Media | 31 | 34 |
| 23) | Mel Karmazin | CBS Corp. Chair & CEO | NR | NR |
| 24) | Sammy Sosa | Cubs RF | NR | NR |
| 25) | Jerry Jones | Cowboys Owner | 23 | NR |
| 26) | Paul Beeston | MLB COO | NR | 43 |
| 27) | Bill Gates | Microsoft Chair & CEO | NR | 28 |
| 28) | R. Louis-Dreyfus | adidas AG Chair | NR | 54 |
| 29) | J. Antonio Samaranch | IOC President | 12 | 20 |
| 30) | David Hill | Fox Sports President | 30 | 36 |
| 31) | Scott Boras | FIRM/Agent | NR | 57 |
| 32) | John Krimsky | USOC Dep. Sec. General | 29 | 35 |
| 33) | Anthony Ponturo | A-B VP/Sports Marketing | 26 | 31 |
| | August Busch IV | A-B VP/Marketing | NR | 31 |
| 34) | Bob Wright | NBC President & CEO | 13 | 23 |
| 35) | Jerry Colangelo | Suns CEO/D'Backs MGP | 20 | 21 |
| 36) | Richard Pound | IOC VP | 21 | NR |
| 37) | Barry Frank | IMG Senior Corporate VP | 37 | 58 |
| 38) | Roy Kramer | SEC Commissioner | 85 | 82 |
| 39) | Eddy Hartenstein | DirecTV President | 77 | 48 |
| 40) | Billy Hunter | NBPA Exec Dir | NR | NR |
| 41) | Tom Hicks | Stars & MLB Rangers Owner | NR | NR |
| 42) | Pat Bowlen | Broncos Owner | 39 | 37 |
| 43) | Tom Condon | IMG Football President | NR | NR |
| 44) | Tom Clarke | Nike President & COO | NR | 24 |
| 45) | Paul Allen | Blazers & Seahawks Owner | 56 | 44 |
| 46) | Anita DeFrantz | IOC VP | 38 | 38 |
| 47) | Dave D'Alessandro | John Hancock President & COO | 47 | 59 |
| 48) | Sean McManus | CBS Sports President | 84 | 63 |
| 49) | Bill France, Jr. | NASCAR President & CEO | NR | 52 |
| 50) | MLB's Gang Of Six | MLB '98 Free Agents (^) | NR | NR |
| 51) | Robert Bennett | Liberty Media President/CEO | NR | 25 |
| 52) | Russ Granik | NBA Deputy Commissioner | 24 | 29 |
| 53) | Bill Hybl | USOC President | 61 | NR |
| 54) | Neil Austrian | NFL President | 49 | 49 |
| 54) | Robert Sillerman | SFX Entertainment Exec Chair | NR | NR |
| 56) | George Steinbrenner | Yankees Owner | NR | NR |
| 57) | David Filo | Yahoo! co-Founder | NR | NR |
| | Jerry Yang | Yahoo! co-Founder | NR | NR |
| 58) | Mike Shanahan | Broncos coach | NR | NR |
| 59) | Jeff Gordon | NASCAR driver | NR | NR |
| 60) | Tim Finchem | PGA Tour Commissioner | 59 | NR |
| 61) | Richard Schultz | USOC Exec Dir | 36 | 39 |
| 62) | Jerry Richardson | NFL Panthers Owner | NR | NR |
| 63) | Michael Glazer | Bond, Schoeneck & King Prtnr | NR | NR |
| 64) | Gene Upshaw | NFLPA Exec Dir | 66 | 62 |
| 65) | Alan Feldman | McDonald's USA President | NR | NR |
| 66) | Tony Ball | Fox/Liberty President & CEO | NR | NR |
| 67) | Tim Brosnan | MLB Int'l COO | 73 | 72 |
| 68) | Tiger Woods | Golfer | 35 | 19 |
| 69) | Tony Tavares | Anaheim Sports President | 52 | 50 |
| 70) | Herman Frazier | USOC VP/Fiesta Bowl Pres. | NR | NR |
| 71) | Sara Levinson | NFLP President | 32 | 40 |
| 72) | Terry McGuirk | TBS Chair & CEO | 65 | 65 |
| 73) | Carmen Policy | Browns President | NR | NR |
| 74) | Jerry Reinsdorf | White Sox & Bulls Chair | 15 | 47 |
| 75) | Dave Checketts | MSG President | 71 | 55 |
| 76) | Harvey Schiller | Turner Sports President | 79 | 75 |
| 77) | Rick Welts | NBAP President/NBA Exec VP | 34 | 41 |
| 78) | Dave Ogrean | USA Hockey Exec Dir | 63 | 70 |
| 79) | Sandy Alderson | MLB Exec VP/Operations | NR | NR |
| 80) | Seth Abraham | Time Warner Sports CEO | 95 | 80 |
| 81) | Cedric Dempsey | NCAA Exec Dir | 41 | 46 |
| 82) | Jeff Sagarin | Sagarin Ratings | NR | NR |
| 83) | Bob Costas | NBC sportscaster | 78 | 74 |
| 84) | Patrick Arnold | LPJ Research President | NR | NR |
| 85) | Arn Tellem | Tellem & Associates/Pres. | NR | NR |
| 86) | Jack Rooney | Miller Brewing VP/Marketing | NR | NR |
| 87) | Mike Holmgren | Packers coach | NR | NR |
| 88) | Donna Lopiano | Women's Spts Found. Exec Dir | 46 | 67 |
| 89) | Michael Barnett | IMG Hockey President | 64 | NR |
| 90) | Se Ri Pak | Golfer | NR | NR |
| 91) | Frank Vuono | ISI President & CEO | 81 | NR |
| 92) | Curtis Polk | FAME President | NR | 77 |
| | Michael Higgins | FAME Exec VP | NR | 77 |
| 93) | Doug Kelly | Pro Player President & COO | NR | 83 |
| 94) | William Schmidt | Gatorade Sports Marketing VP | NR | 87 |
| 95) | Jeffrey Moorad | Steinberg & Moorad/Partner | 58 | 98 |
| 96) | Val Ackerman | WNBA President | NR | NR |
| 97) | Don King | Boxing promoter | NR | NR |
| 98) | Sandra Ortiz-Del Valle | Teacher/coach NYC HS | NR | NR |
| 99) | Bill Allard | ProServ President & CEO | NR | NR |
| 100) | Glory Beanie Baby | MLB All-Star Giveaway | NR | NR |
