Forbes lists LeBron as world's most valuable athlete

LeBron James has passed Tiger Woods on the Forbes list on the world's most valuable athletes.

The Forbes Fab 40: The Most Valuable Sports Brands of 2014 was released on Tuesday, listing the top 10 sports brands by business, events, teams and athletes. The magazine said James pulled in $53 million off the court during the past year and estimated his brand is worth $37 million, the amount his endorsement and non-basketball earnings exceeded the average of the top 10 off-court earners in the NBA.

Woods had held the top spot on the list since 2007. His drop to No. 2 was related more to the end of his long-standing relationship with video game maker Electronic Arts than his injury-riddled year on the golf course.

Nike, which employs James as one of its top endorsers, was listed by Forbes as the top sports business at an estimated value of $19 billion, up $1.7 billion over last year.

James, 29, signed a max deal to return to his home-state Cleveland Cavaliers last summer after four seasons with the Miami Heat. He signed a short-term contract that allows him to opt out after one season, and while he's made clear he has no intentions to leave he's also planning to maximize his earnings.

The NBA has signed a new $24 billion TV and media deal that should result in a jump in the league's salary cap. James knows the league's collective bargaining agreement is up again in 2017, that the Los Angeles Clippers recently sold for $2 billion and that his popularity -- in a league of stars, he's the brightest -- plays a big role in the league signing such a gigantic television deal.

"Give a lot credit to David Stern," James said on Monday of the ex-NBA Commissioner. "He built our league, and he built our brand. For us to be able to make a television deal like that for the type of money, a lot of it is his vision."

Kevin Durant, last season's NBA MVP who's generally considered the league's second best and second-most poular player, signed a shoe deal that could be worth up to $300 million over 10 years last summer with Nike, which used its contractual rights to match an offer Under Armour made to Durant.

James signed a new deal with Nike in 2010. He signed with Nike -- reportedly for less money than he was offered by other shoe companies -- in 2003, when the Cavaliers made him the top pick in the NBA Draft out of Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.

James made only a handful of public appearances between his July homecoming and last week's start of training camp, but he's known to have visited China on a Nike-related trip and shot commercials for Beats headphones and McDonald's in his hometown. He's aware of the business impact the new TV deal and a new CBA could have, but said he's focused on basketball business for now.

"I don't even really get into speculation and conversations with my name," James said. "I haven't even begun to think about it as far as how I'm going to go forward. I've been too busy worried about how to get better in training camp. But there will come a point and time where I will sit back with my team and some of the guys and from a players perspective and a players association perspective how (we'll) go about this with this new deal."