Welcome back to Keeping Score, our Friday column that highlights the personalities, teams and games that sports fans are talking about — by the numbers.
8
Number of athletes who have made more than $1 billion in income while active in their sport.
Roger Federer is part of the smallest and rarest group of athletes, those who, according to Forbes, have made more than $1 billion in pre-tax income during their playing careers. The other billion-dollar athletes are LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Floyd Mayweather and Kevin Durant. (Durant joined the club in 2026.)
When it comes to post-career earnings, Federer might just be getting started. His decision to leave Nike and take equity in the Swiss sportswear company On was prescient. His stake in On is now worth $273 million, and On just signed Kylian Mbappé, another former Nike athlete, to endorse its shoes. At an investor meeting this week, On projected $6.84 billion in net sales in 2029.
If Federer wants to become the GOAT of athletes-turned-business people, shoes are one of the surest ways to the top. The current business GOAT is Michael Jordan, whose total career earnings, including Jordan Brand, are estimated at $3.28 billion.
100
Football plays that the Seattle Seahawks scouted from fan videos of the Denver Broncos’ training camp.
Bill Belichick is now in college football, but the quest to discover your opponents’ plays by any means necessary lives on in the NFL.
The “cold war” between Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald is in détente, according to both coaches, after Macdonald gave a recent interview in which he talked about how Payton accused him of cheating in 2024 because the Seahawks studied 100 plays from the Broncos’ training camp posted by fans on social media accounts.
According to Macdonald, Payton threatened to go public with Spygate-style accusations against the Seahawks, while the Seahawks claimed they would sue in response, since, as Macdonald noted, the videos were posted on public websites.
“It was like the Cold War,” Macdonald said. “He’s like, ‘I’m gonna hit the button, I’m gonna hit the button.’ We’re like, ‘Well, we’re gonna hit the button.’ So none of us hit the button.”
0
Human drivers needed to control the Mammoth, a driverless Zamboni-style machine used at the Colorado Avalanche’s preseason practice rink.
The Zamboni is the most beloved vehicle in sports, but its days may be numbered. Visitors to the Colorado Avalanche’s preseason site outside Denver got a glimpse of the future when they observed Mammoth Autopilot 3D, a driverless ice resurfacer. The Mammoth isn’t fully autonomous; the rink’s technical staff programs the machine to make its runs and chooses the speed and blade level.
One reason rinks are turning to Mammoth is that Zamboni driving and ice resurfacing is an art and those skills are in short supply, according to WM Technics, the Italian manufacturer that produces Mammoth.
“Young people aren’t interested in it anymore,” WM sales and marketing director Mirko Sparber said.
The Mammoth costs between $360,000 and $380,000, according to The Athletic.
2
Sports that Harry Kane is considering playing professionally at the end of his soccer career.
Bayern Munich forward and England captain Harry Kane is known for his love of American sports, especially American football. While he was at Tottenham, he even ran the Spurs’ fantasy football league. Tom Brady was his childhood hero, and Kane, who was knocked for his lack of athleticism as a young player, was inspired by how Brady, a sixth-round draft pick, proved his doubters wrong.
Kane has often talked about how he’d love to be an NFL kicker if he doesn’t have a professional golf career after soccer. (He’s a 2-handicap.) Now, Kane has a serious plan to balance the NFL and pro soccer. At the end of his career, he could play in MLS and moonlight as an NFL kicker.
“I take penalties and it is a very similar pressure and technique,” Kane said. “If I did that, in terms of training, I would be closer to that more than to any other sport. But as I know, with all elite sports, when you watch it on TV, people make it look easy, and you think it is possible, but that is not always the case.”
790
Points scored this WNBA season by Olivia Miles, who broke Caitlin Clark’s record for points by a WNBA rookie.
That didn’t last long. Caitlin Clark’s record for points by a WNBA rookie, set in 2024 at 769, was bested this season by Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles, who dropped 790 points.
Miles is certain to be the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year, and she’s already achieved superstar status in the league, leading the Lynx to a first-place finish in the regular season and starting in the All-Star Game. She’s also earned a great nickname: “The Spectacle.”
The top-seeded Lynx will play their opening playoff game on Sunday in Minneapolis against the New York Liberty.
9th
Hole on which Alejandro Tosti’s caddie Cliff Ellis quit during the first round of the Biltmore Championship.
Cliff Ellis had enough. He had enough of caddying and enough of golfer Alejandro Tosti. So after an exchange with Tosti on the 9th hole of the first round of the Biltmore Championship, Ellis laid down his boss’s bag, took off his bib and walked off the course. Tosti completed his round with a fan from the gallery on his bag.
Ryan French of Monday Q has the full story. After getting an anonymous DM on social media about the Ellis-Tosti breakup, French asked if the information was firsthand. “Pretty firsthand” was the response. It was Ellis. There’s a caddie-said/player-said element to the split, but money and Tosti’s temper appear to be at the heart of it.
And how did Tosti fare with a fan on his bag? He missed the cut. As Neil Sedaka once said, “Breaking up is hard to do.”
16
Number of consecutive road games that Mississippi Valley State will play to start the NCAA men’s basketball season.
The Mississippi Valley State Devils went 3-30 last season, but their opening stretch of games this year includes matchups with national champion Michigan, runner-up UConn, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Washington and other top teams.
While the Devils might end up as tomato cans for the NCAA’s basketball juggernauts, these mismatches can pay off for the school’s athletic department. CBS Sports estimates the games could raise close to $1 million total for Mississippi Valley State's athletic department to help fund the robust sports programs at the historically Black university.
6
Consecutive weeks of rain at Rio’s Maracanã prior to this weekend’s Cowboys-Ravens game.
Built for the 1950 World Cup, the Maracanã is one of the few truly iconic stadiums in the world and will serve as a dramatic backdrop for an enticing Cowboys-Ravens matchup on Sunday. However, the Maracanã is equally famous for complaints about its playing surface, and recent heavy rain and a busy soccer schedule have raised new concerns about conditions. Agustín Rossi, the goalkeeper for the Brazilian soccer club Flamengo, recently described the field as "deplorable."
“They’ve faced some unprecedented weather over the last six weeks or so as far as rainfall goes,” said Nick Pappas, the NFL’s field director. “We’ve got to have plans in place to ensure that you can mitigate the weather the best you can and, right now, we feel we’re in a good spot.”
Still, Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey is bringing an extra pair of cleats.
0.2
Estimated crocodiles per kilometer of Australia’s 480-km-long Fitzroy River, where rowing events will be held at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
Crocodiles are among the world’s deadliest killers, while Olympic rowers are among humankind’s strongest and most disciplined athletes. So we don’t know who’s the favorite at the 2032 Olympic rowing events on the Fitzroy River, which is home to many saltwater crocodiles. But there’s no question that crocodile sightings could inspire faster times.
“I’m sure I’d row faster, I’m sure all the athletes would row faster. That’s on the list of concerns, I don’t think it’s the highest priority in concerns,” said Drew Ginn, a former gold medal Olympic rower for Australia.
Ginn is more worried about the fairness of the Fitzroy River’s bends and currents in Olympic competition than the crocodiles. 🐊
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