When it comes to athletes cheating on their spouses it is pretty difficult to determine which situation is more embarrassing because they are all ridiculous. Everyone that landed in our top five could have easily been number one and a few others on the list could have too.

One thing they all have in common is poor judgment and decision making skills which often results in negative outcomes. Some of the athletes who made this list are repeat offenders that only got caught because of some embarrassing leak to the press.

Cheating on your spouse is not the most positive topic, but the way the athletes on our list got caught is certainly entertaining to say the least. From text messages to sex tapes to criminal accusations, our list is full of surprises. A lot of athletes seem to have trouble staying faithful to their spouses, no matter how beautiful or wonderful they may seem. If commitment is something that is so hard to do, why bother getting married in the first place?

Please feel free to add anyone we missed that you feel should have made the list in the comments section. There is no way to fit them all in the top 10 list, but we know there are plenty more.

17 15. Alex Rodriguez

Is Alex Rodriguez a bigger cheater on or off the field? Who knows, but A-Rod has constantly proven to be a cheater in his relationships. While married to his wife Cynthia, The New York Post reported that A-Rod had spent a night in Toronto with an exotic dancer.

His wife would file for divorce a year later, where more allegations of infidelity surfaced, this time with escorts.

16 14. Eugene Robinson

Not only was the way he was caught embarrassing, but the timing of it had to be the worst of any athlete on this list. The night before Super Bowl XXXIII, when Eugene Robinson's Falcons were set to take on the Denver Broncos, Robinson was caught trying to solicit sex with a prostitute, who turned out to be an undercover cop. The worst thing? This was just hours after Robinson had been given the NFL's Bart Starr award in recognition of "high moral character." Following the arrest, Robinson agreed to return the award and to cap off Robinson's terrible weekend, the Falcons lost to Denver.

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14 13. Tiki Barber

Tiki Barber has done nothing to endear himself to the public since his retirement from the NFL. How can you look like the biggest jerk in the world? Well, having an affair while your wife is pregnant with twins is one way. Barber had an affair on his wife of over 10 years with former NBC intern Traci Lynn Johnson, dating back to when she was a 21-year-old student. Barber's broadcasting career didn't go well, as NBC had paid him a lot of money, only for him to be a disappointment on screen. This made it a little easier to let him go.

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12 12. Ryan Giggs

Not only was Ryan Giggs outed as having an affair by tabloids, with Big Brother star Imogen Thomas. He obtained a gagging order with an injunction, but the worst was yet to come. Giggs was outed to having an affair with his own brother's wife. An affair that had lasted eight years! Just imagine having to explain your way out of that one. Giggs' reputation took a hell of a hit after that one and now four years after the affair was exposed, Ryan is trying to mend the fence with his brother Rhodri.

11 11. Tom Brady

Brady may go down in NFL history as the best quarterback to play football despite his consistent trouble he has with cheating both on and off the field. He has been involved in multiple cheating investigations in the NFL with the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick over the years and they are currently coming fresh off the deflate investigation.

It is easy to forget that back in 2006 Brady was rumored to have been cheating on his girlfriend Bridget Moynahan before they agreed to break up. After the split, Brady immediately moved on to Gisele Bundchen and later found out that his ex was three months pregnant when they split.

It is pretty clear that Brady had planned the new relationship well before ending his former one, but it has been overshadowed by all the NFL investigations to ease the embarrassment. For her part, Bundchen has said that she considered leaving Brady once she found out about Moynahan's pregnancy.

10 10. Shaquille O’Neal

We all know Shaq from his stellar NBA career resulting in multiple All-Star game appearances, yearly awards and four championships, but most people did not know that he had a less impressive career in marriage.

Shaq had repeatedly cheated on his wife Shaunie Nelson for seven years before finally being caught. Nelson had hired a private investigator after she found flirty messages between Shaq and his mistress, Vanessa Lopez. After the inevitable divorce, he was ordered to fork over $20,000 every month to Nelson for child support and alimony.

That is a hefty monthly fee. Darn sexting... I mean texting.

9 9. Paul Lo Duca

Lo Duca not only had a problem with being faithful to his wife, but also seems to have had a pretty serious gambling problem around the same time. He played catcher for the New York Mets at the time and his life was turning south fast.

Along with the gambling investigation launched by the Mets came a report from a 19-year-old woman who claimed she was having an affair with Lo Duco. It was absolutely embarrassing for him and the Mets. His wife immediately filed for divorce and that was it. At least they stayed friends to make sure their daughter spends time with friendly and cooperative parents.

8 8. Jeff Gordon

Most of us know Jeff Gordon from his impressive NASCAR career and the major success he had on the racetrack. He has won multiple championships, Daytona 500s and rookie of the year awards during his career resulting with him being named one of the top 50 greatest NASCAR drivers of all time.

Unfortunately, his success on the racetrack did not spread to his marital life which seemed to be perfect when he met Brooke Sealey, a former Ms.Winston Cup winner. They were a perfect star couple and everyone loved the match.

Gordon, who is a multi-millionaire apparently was not happy with just one gorgeous woman and decided to cheat with Ingrid Vandebosch, a Belgian model. Not only was it an embarrassment to Gordon and his wife, but it was also bad for his bank account. The divorce was settled with Gordon handing over $15 million along with two cars and usage rights for his plane and yacht. Ouch.

7 7. Hulk Hogan

Terry Bollea, also known as Hulk Hogan, was a world famous professional wrestler and would go on to become one of the most dominant and popular figures in wrestling history. He was certainly entertaining, but after 26 years of marriage he could not stay faithful to his wife.

He was caught having an affair with his wife’s sister and was later caught having an affair with one of his daughter’s friends. He also slept with his friend Bubba The Love Sponge's wife, after his friend had given him permission to do so. Hogan was still married to his ex Linda at the time. Unfortunately the act was filmed and the sex tape leaked six years later.

The most embarrassing one has to be the sex tape, but man does he know how to pick them.

6 6. Tony Parker

Tony Parker has put together a great NBA career teaming with Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to win multiple championships while becoming the model franchise for the NBA.

However, one thing we will all remember Parker for is cheating on his wife Eva Longoria. It was reported by the tabloids back in 2007 and claimed he was having an affair with Alexandra Paressant. Parker responded by filing a lawsuit against the website that reported the affair.

A few years later, rumors began circulating again and Longoria filed for divorce claiming that Parker had been cheating on her with another woman this time. That woman is rumored to be Erin Barry who is the wife of then teammate Brent Barry. What is up with that TP!?

5 5. Kobe Bryant

Bryant has put up some excellent numbers throughout his NBA career and is often compared to Michael Jordan who is arguably the greatest of all time. He also has another thing in common with Jordan and that is his marriage struggles.

Back in 2003 Bryant’s affair came out because the woman he had an affair with claimed he sexually assaulted her and a police investigation came soon after. He later would admit to the affair, but denied all criminal charges against him.

Since then Bryant has been accused of multiple other scandals including another rumored affair in 2011 which resulted in his wife finally filing for divorce. But like the first time, they made up and are back together.

4 4. Oscar De La Hoya (1?)

When it comes to most embarrassing ways to get caught cheating, De La Hoya has to be in the mix. His boxing career was excellent, but outside of that it is clear that he has some issues. He had a problem with cocaine abuse that resulted in treatment at a rehab facility and blamed that for his infidelity.

He has admitted to cheating on his wife multiple times and was really put in the spotlight when he also admitted to dressing up in drag (high heels, fishnet and lingerie) in the photos that were leaked back in 2007. (I do not suggest Googling the photos.)

It is by far the strangest story on our list.

3 3. Michael Jordan

Like others on this list, Jordan lost a ton of money because he could not stay faithful to his wife. Throughout his career Jordan won six NBA Championships, 10 scoring titles, multiple Olympic gold medals and has endorsements that still last to this day.

His brief marriage with Juanita Vanoy was a lot less successful and after just a couple of years Jordan cheated. It came out after a report that he had paid off his mistress with $250,000 to stay quiet. The divorce papers were not finalized until 2006, but Jordan was forced to pay his wife $150 million as a result.

Paying off a mistress is certainly embarrassing, but paying that kind of money because you could not stay faithful is far worse.

2 2. Brett Favre

Boy, nothing like some sexting pics and messages getting out there to out your unfaithful ways. While Brett Favre was playing for the New York Jets in the 2008 season, allegations surfaced that Favre had sent inappropriate pictures to Jets "GameDay" host and sideline reporter Jenn Sterger. Sterger has since said that Favre had made advances towards her, but she rejected him, due to the fact he is married and she didn't think it'd be a good idea to have an affair with the Jets' highest profiled player.

It's still cheating, Brett.

1 1. Tiger Woods

We all knew Tiger Woods had to come in as the most embarrassing and ridiculous athlete to get caught cheating on his spouse. During arguably one of the most incredible professional golf careers in history, Woods consistently cheated on his wife Elin Nordegren.

Apparently Woods was/is addicted to sex and that was his excuse for his deliberate and continuous affairs. That excuse alone is pretty embarrassing, but the divorce was extremely messy both mentally and financially for Woods as he lost $100 million to his wife and at least $22 million from endorsements.