His heroic story attracted an army of fans and lucrative sponsorship deals with big corporations such as Nike and the Anheuser-Busch brewery.

CNN: October 22, 2012 -- Updated 1721 GMT (0121 HKT)

Bryant delivered a public apology to the accuser, and the incident damaged his reputation -- many of his highly lucrative sponsorship deals were subsequently dropped.

CNN: Kobe Bryant: Suiting up for the 'Redeem Team'

Moyes arrives with United having sealed a series of lucrative sponsorship deals aimed at maximizing off-pitch revenue in order to be competitive under European football's financial fair play rules.

CNN: Moyes signs six-year deal at Manchester United

Almost nine years on, the South African is a sporting superstar recognised across the world, appearing in global advertising campaigns and earning millions of pounds in lucrative sponsorship deals.

BBC: Africa

Half the top ten are men and half are women, although Roger Federer is light years ahead of anyone else thanks to his longtime dominance and 10 lucrative sponsorship deals.

FORBES: World's Highest-Paid Tennis Players

Increasingly, it's going to be those that can ink lucrative corporate sponsorship deals in new arenas.

FORBES: Name Games