Filed Under » sports business

Forbes and Sports Illustrated have released their list of the highest-earning athletes in sports. Here is SportsPickle's exclusive list of the lowest-earning athletes in sports.

Sure, professional athletes make tons of money. But in these economic times, it's not easy to get by on just a few million dollars.

Fortunately, they can supplement their meager incomes with endorsement contracts. But what company to endorse?

This handy flowchart has the answers.

Athletes talk all the time about how sports are a business. And they're right. In fact, many of our sports institutions have clear equivalents in the business world.

Take a look.

Duke : Wall Street

Why they’re similar:Few institutions draw as much ire as Duke and Wall Street, which is strange, because the whiny rich white guys are usually the ones we root for.

Why they’re really similar: No two groups have experienced the wrath of being the recipients of bailouts, whether by ref or government, than these two.

Why they’re different:In the past year the President bet on Wall Street and against Duke. He was wrong about the latter, and if the slightly decaying cardboard that makes up my living room furniture is any indication, he might be wrong about the former, too.

Super Bowl XLIV may have earned record TV ratings, but that has to be of little consolation to the more than 1,600 NFL players who learned this week that they will be without jobs until September 2010 at the earliest in just the latest sign the U.S. economy has yet to recover.

"We wish we could tell them to all to show up on Sunday and play games, but it's not something that's possible right now," said commissioner Roger Goodell. "We'll reevaluate things in the coming months and see where we are come fall. That's all we can promise right now."

Many NFL players say they saw this coming and have socked away some of their income so they can make ends while being unemployed, but other, dumber players have been caught off guard.

"No football? Not even a Pro Bowl?" said Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco. "I just bought a semi. And launched a new news network. I'm screwed."

Collegiate stars who were hoping to step right in to the NFL and earn huge salaries are also feeling the pinch and have had to resort to looking for alternate employment options. Collegiate legend Tim Tebow is reportedly even considering going over the border to play in the Canadian Football League. The Arena Football League is no longer an option, as it suspended operations in August 2009 due to bankruptcy.

Goodell hopes that's not in the future for the NFL.

"It's just our offseason," he said. "Relax. We're loaded. I'm actually erecting a Scrooge McDuck-style, gold-filled silo in my office."

SportsPickle is on Facebook as of … now.

Let's look at pictures of our families and talk about our shared high school memories! Remember the big game against our rivals? And that crazy party? And what about that one girl who did that thing? And that one teacher, remember?

Good times.

Well we can do all that and more at http://www.Facebook.com/SportsPickle. (That's right: vanity URL, losers. Woot!)

SportsPickle is on Facebook. Suck it, Friendster.

A scientific survey conducted after Tim Tebow's anti-abortion ad aired during the Super Bowl showed that the spot was remarkably convincing to male viewers. In fact, 99-percent of males said it convinced them to never have an abortion.

"No way. That's a human life. A human life that could grow into a star quarterback," said one survey respondent. "I don't care what a doctor said or how inconvenient it might be, I would give birth to my baby. And then I would find a great woman to raise it."

Prior to the ad airing, most male viewers said they were mixed on the issue of abortion, with a majority saying "it wasn't really up to them." But by the time the 30-second spot ended, those viewpoints had drastically changed.

"I don't know. They made some good points," said a survey participant. "And since we don't really know exactly when life begins, shouldn't we err on the side of preventing abortions. Also, who wouldn't want to have a baby with Tim Tebow's mom? She was pretty hot for an older lady."

Only one male viewer who was surveyed said the ad made them support abortion.

"I'm a dude. If I had a baby in me, I would want to cut it out ASAP," he said. "That's freaky. Why would I keep it? Gross, man. I'd get rid of it before the government started doing all kinds of weird tests on me."

The survey also found that the Tebow commercial had zero impact on female viewers.

Every non-sports fan knows the Super Bowl is about the commercials. And everyone knows that the measure of a good commercial is how memorable it is.

Here are ten Super Bowl commercials from the past that achieved the goal of being memorable. Terribly memorable.

#10 – CareerBuilder.com (2008)

Ohmigod! Is that what women keep in there?! Gross! Now we’re glad we’ve never gotten that far with a girl.

#9: Outpost.com (1998)

Fun Fact: After this commercial aired, 20-percent of the audience bought a Mc D.L.T, 25-percent continued watching the game, and 55-percent had sex with a head of lettuce.

#7 Dirt Devil (1997)

Using Fred Astaire footage to sell a vacuum. Classy! Still, though, it could have been worse. We’re probably not too far away from Ginger Rogers starring in a GoDaddy commercial.

#6 – GM (2007)

Ha-ha! Suicide RULZ! Hopefully this ad didn’t give ideas to anyone who owns GM stock.

#5 – Noxzema (1973)

Too subtle. Way too subtle. “Cream your face.” What’s that supposed to mean? Are we talking about shaving cream or a sex act with an attractive woman? Good advertising needs to be clear, not milky.

#4 – E-Trade (2000)