According to a recent development, NBA superstars LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo overpowered the mighty duo of Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. The NBA duo got the upper hand over their F1 rivals in a recent list based on the commercial desirability of every athlete worldwide.
The fascinating list starts with Argentine soccer icon Lionel Messi in the top position. After him comes the duo of James and Antetokounmpo who take the second and third position, respectively. Compared to them, the F1 duo of Hamilton and Verstappen comes into fourth and sixth positions.
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Interestingly, the Mercedes and Red Bull drivers were able to beat the very popular Stephen Curry, who ended up in eighth place. Admittedly, the athletes were rated according to their Marketability scores, which were further categorized into three parts. They were Brand Strength, Total Addressable Market, and Economics, as per Boardroom.
The athletes were then judged out of 100 points, in which Messi scored the highest with 94.81. Then came James with 92.75, followed by Antetokounmpo with 90.53. On the other hand, Hamilton and Verstappen scored 89.91, and 88.22, respectively.
Compared to them, Curry scored 87.09 ahead of two soccer icons Robert Lewandowski and Alphonso Davies. Interestingly, the statistics regarding the position of F1 drivers might change in the future with the drastic rise of the three-time F1 world champion.
How can Max Verstappen change his stand on the list in the future?
Given how massive the rise of Max Verstappen has been in recent times, it is understood that the Dutchman is destined for greatness. As things stand, it will not only be in terms of F1 records, but also in the case of monetary affairs.
According to a report published by Business F1, Max Verstappen is predicted to be the first driver to earn a billion dollars. The Red Bull driver is already on a hefty paycheck with his current times, if things continue to be like this, Verstappen’s salary is likely to be nothing but sky-high.
Let’s gooo guys!!! 💪 Another amazing result @redbullracing 👏
Had a lot of fun out there today, great racing! 🙌 See you next year Vegas 🎲🎰 pic.twitter.com/MGxLOoOhrq
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 19, 2023
Therefore, Verstappen can match the likes of LeBron James, who is also a billionaire player. Going by the Dutch driver’s recent ventures, chances are he is very much heading that way. Apart from signing multiple sponsorship deals, the Red Bull star is also moving towards making sim racing a real deal.
He has already established Verstappen.com racing and moving into a positive trajectory with Team Redline. Notably, Lewis Hamilton also has an impressive entrepreneurial portfolio as the seven-time world champion has multiple ventures to make himself a very rich individual as well. From co-owning Denver Broncos, Neat Burger, Almave, etc. to owning Team X44 in the Extreme E series, all these could give Hamilton a serious economic push in the near future.
