Who is the most influential athlete outside their sport?

Trophies are the smaller half of these careers. Shoes, broadcasts, laws and arguments came after.

1

Muhammad Ali

A heavyweight champion whose fame, voice and convictions reached far past boxing.

2

Michael Jordan

Turned an athlete's name into a global footwear business and a template every sport copied.

3

Pele

Football's first worldwide celebrity, and a reason the sport took root in the United States.

4

Jackie Robinson

His 1947 debut changed American sport before it changed anything else.

5

Billie Jean King

Won the Battle of the Sexes and built the women's professional tennis tour.

6

Serena Williams

Reshaped tennis on court and became a fashion and investment figure off it.

7

David Beckham

Took football into fashion, television and franchise ownership.

8

LeBron James

Built a media company and a public school while still playing at the top of the NBA.

9

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The NBA's long-time scoring leader who became an author and columnist.

10

Arthur Ashe

The first Black man to win Wimbledon, later known for his public health work.

11

Cristiano Ronaldo

The most-followed person on social media, and a brand in his own right.

12

Tiger Woods

Multiplied golf's audience and its prize money in a single career.

13

Babe Ruth

Baseball's first mass-media star, famous well beyond the sport in the 1920s.

14

Simone Biles

Changed how sport talks about mental health while rewriting her own discipline.