Two of Houston’s athletes made the Bloomberg BusinessWeek 2010 Power 100 List which ranked the most powerful athletes in professional sports. Houston Texans’ Andre Johnson came in at #38 and Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming came in at #68.

What does it take to be one of the most powerful athletes? It’s more than just strength. The Power 100 rankings were based on both “on-field” and “off-field” performance, looking at some of the same questions managers ask when looking at players: “Which player will gaurantee the best chance for winning?” “Will they behave themselves off the field?” “Can I trust them to give 100%?” This year’s ranking focused solely on athletes and while the NBA and NFL took the majority of top spots (22 for NBA players and 21 for NFL players) their rankings are nonetheless impressive as these players made the play both on the field and in their day to day lives.

Andre Johnson of the Houston Texans NFL team came in at #38 in the Power 100 2010 ranking. He is a 2009 First-Team All-Pro, and he has held the consensus best receiver in the NFL title for three years. In 2009 he landed his first TV ad endorsement for Dick’s Sporting Goods for Nike receiving gloves.

NBA player Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets came in at #68. While his ranking could have been higher if not due to time off the field, Ming has made basketball extremely popular in China to the point that it was the best attended sport during the Beijing Games. Ming made the 2009 All-NBA Second Team, and is supported by sponsors Reebok, Coca-Cola, and Visa.

To determine athletes “on-field” scores their performance over a two year period was ranked against their peers, and was measured by looking at points scored, money earned, laps lead, batting average, etc. This ranking was then adjusted by the popularity of the sport based on fan interest and TV viewing, more popular sports holding more weight. The “off-field” score was determined through surveys from the general public on their views and perceptions of the players, looking at characteristics such as awareness, appeal, trustworthiness, and influence. The final measure to the “off-field” ranking was the amount of endorsement dollars each athlete earns.

According to David Newman, vice president of analytics for CSE, “CSE’s approach to measuring athletes is unique because we aggregate data from a wide array of sources, both psychographic and endemic to the sport, which results in a fact-based, customizable solution which can be applied to any brand, company or sponsorship.”

The 2010 Power 100 was compiled by Bloomberg Business Week in conjunction with CSE (formerly known as Career Sports & Entertainment), along with Rick Horrow of Horrow Sports Ventures and host of The $ports Take with Sports Professor Rick Horrow.

For a complete list of Power 100 athletes please visit www.businessweek.com

Source: www.businessweek.com