I've come to the conclusion that being a professional athlete is a pretty good gig. Who hasn't dreamed about hitting a walk-off home run at Fenway Park, catching the winning touchdown at Lambeau Field, hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup, winning the main event at WrestleMania. We've heard about these dreams time and time again. But who are we really kidding? What really occupies our dreams? How about shacking up with the likes of Cameron Diaz, Carrie Underwood, or Torrie Wilson. The greatly under appreciated perk of being a professional athlete: access to the hottest females alive.
The jocks always scored the hottest babes in high school, why would it be any different at the adult level. Actresses, singers, supermodels are just a few who line up for a professional athletes' service. An athlete travels around the country every year experiencing a plethora of opportunities to boost those dating resumes, and some of these highly accomplished athletes have even more success off the field than on it. There are athletes who date fellow athletes (how incredible is Nomar and Mia's son going to be at all the sports), and there are athletes that end up with spouses who are somehow worth more money.
Go ahead and dream about winning your team a championship, just be sure to remember the beautiful woman you'll be going home with. The best of both worlds. The ability to say "I'm living the dream" and actually say it truthfully. A big pat on the back to the following 15 athletes with the most impressive dating resumes.
15 15. Jason Kidd
The future Hall of Fame point guard went from wily veteran player to upstart head coach in the blink of a retirement. His career started in the 90s as did his relationship with singer Toni Braxton. The rumor goes that Braxton went to pick up Kidd at his hotel for a date, but left with Kidd's teammate Jim Jackson instead. Now that's a triangle Phil Jackson would be proud of. Kidd always filled the box score on and off the hardwood dating playboy playmate Hope Smith, Victoria Secret supermodel May Andersen, and marrying actress Porshla Coleman. A true triple-double machine.
14 14. Reggie Bush
Bush was one of the best college football players of all time. But just like his football career, he peaked early with the ladies. He dated Kim Kardashian for three years equaling his time with the USC Trojans. The electric running back dated Amber Rose after Kanye West, and country star Jessie James before fellow NFLer Eric Decker did. While at the USC, Bush dated Eve Torres. Torres went on to become a Divas Champion in the WWE. Nobody could have predicted she would be a more successful sports star than Bush.
13 13. Dustin Johnson
Quality over quantity for this PGA tour bad boy, as he's engaged to the daughter of one of the greatest athletes to ever grace planet Earth. Wayne Gretzky, whose magic helped produce Paulina Gretzky. The Great One’s daughter, to call her great would be an understatement. The only question now is will their baby boy become the first person ever to score a goal in the NHL and win a PGA tour event.
Pre Paulina wasn’t so bad for DJ either as he dated another pro golfer, the beautiful Natalie Gulbis.
12 12. Wladimir Klitschko
The Ukrainian giant apparently treats the ladies a little better than his opponents' skulls.The former world champion dated models Yvonne Catterfeld, Karolina Kurkova, and Jessica White. Supermodels weren’t his only jam as he also dated a Charlie’s Angel, Lucy Liu.
In 2013 he got engaged to actress Hayden Panettiere. An interesting tale of the tape: Klitschko - 6-foot-6, 246 pounds. Panettiere - 5-foot-1, 110 pounds. Klitschko has the height, weight, and reach advantage in this one folks. If Panettiere can use the super powers she possesses on the TV show Heroes, it would be one hell of a fight.
11 11. Cristiano Ronaldo
When you're the most popular star in the world's most popular sport, and you happen to be a handsome man, you'll never have to worry about finding a date. Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo makes it look as easy as he makes dribbling a soccer ball look. His past girlfriends include Irina Shayk, Rafaella Fico and of course, Kim Kardashian. Ronaldo still has plenty of years of great soccer ahead of him and with that, he still has many great years ahead of him in the dating scene.
10 10. Kelly Slater
If I asked you to name two surfers you probably couldn't (Sorry, Jeff Spicoli doesn't count). Most could name just one, the legendary surfer Kelly Slater. He doesn't play a marquee sport like the rest on this list, but he's got the accolades in the water and a dating resume to match. He was on and off again with his Baywatch co-star Pamela Anderson. Borat would be so proud. He also dated Cameron Diaz, Gisele Bundchen, and Bar Refaeli. So to recap, he dated some the most incredible female specimens alive, and his day job is hanging out at the beach. Where do I go to school for this?
9 9. Anna Kournikova
The Russian beauty was definitely no Williams, or even Sharapova on the Tennis court, but her dating ranking would have easily cracked the top 25. She dated Russian hockey star Sergei Federov for five years before getting married to him. They were through in straight sets lasting less than 365 days. She also dated another Russian hockey star, the Russian Rocket Pavel Bure. She moved from the ice to the stage getting together with Enrique Iglesias, Anna could be his hero baaaby. Did Kournikova ever even win a major? It doesn't matter, her name will live on in the world of tennis for as long as we're alive.
8 8. Tony Romo
Romo had a tough season breaking his collarbone... twice. The same number of bombshell blonde singers he has dated. Carrie Underwood followed by Jessica Simpson. This is a pretty incredible 1-2 punch, though no consolation for Cowboys fans who have watched their team go through years of heartbreak. Romo has yet to win a Super Bowl, but he did tie the knot with former Miss Missouri Candice Crawford. Not bad for someone who wasn't even drafted out of college. "Tony Romo wasn't drafted", one of the most common phrases in all of professional sports. We get it.
7 7. Joe DiMaggio
Let's throw it back to Joltin' Joe whose dating resume may only be topped by his 56 game hit streak. He married Marilyn Monroe making them one of the first celebrity power couples. Monroe when speaking of their sex life was famously quoted as saying she would have won the Academy Award for faking it. Sorry Joe. He also dated actresses Gloria Dehaven, Diana Dors, Gina Lollobrigida, and Jayne Mansfield. You may have not heard of these old school stars, but just look at the smile on the face of your Grandpa when you mention those names to him.
6 6. Tiger Woods
The four time Master's champion is also the master of infidelity. After marrying Swedish model Elin Nordegren, Tiger had an affair with a slew of females. Woods crashed his SUV into a tree outside his Florida mansion after Nordegren had attacked the vehicle with a golf club following an argument about Woods' affair with club promoter Rachel Uchitel.
In recent years as Tiger tried to repair his severed image, he dated superstar skier Lindsay Vonn. They broke up due to busy, conflicting schedules, but one wonders if Tiger's old ways had come back to bite him again.
5 5. Andy Roddick
Though Roddick may have never reached his full potential on the court, he definitely reached it off the court. This began with Mandy Moore, the duo talented singer/actress. Who do you consider the hottest tennis play of all time? He dated her next. Though he and Maria Sharapova were done before you could say forehand smash. Next he moved on to the talented, er, beautiful Paris Hilton. He finally found his ace Brooklyn Decker, they married in 2009.
4 4. Serena Williams
The greatest female athlete of all time is a fan of athletes herself. C.C. Sabathia, Keyshawn Johnson, and Amare Stoudemire to name a few. Though all incredible athletes, they proved not worthy of the 21-time major winner. Serena had a long term relationship with director Brett Ratner, and their breakup was famously shown on an episode of the reality TV show Venus & Serena.
Serena recently dated Drake. It was going great until she shockingly lost the final of the US Open with him in the stands. Bad luck charm? No more calling the hotline bling for Serena.
3 3. Tom Brady
The 6th round draft pick came out of nowhere to win a Super Bowl, soon after he was dating 1st round draft pick Tara Reid. After his slice of the American Pie star, the chisel faced Brady went on to date actress Bridget Moynahan and they lived happily ever… nope, audible. Why stay married to a beautiful actress when you can marry the the most successful super model on the planet, Gisele Bundchen. Talk about a power couple, Brady had no problem taking less money from the Patriots knowing Gisele’s net worth is a cool $360 million.
2 2. Alex Rodriguez
While A-Rod’s use of performance enhancing drugs has tainted his place in the MLB record book, his dating resume is Hall of Fame worthy. The trio of Madonna, Kate Hudson, and Cameron Diaz is reminiscent of the New York Yankees famed offence “Murderers’ Row”. A-Rod made the switch from shortstop to third base and from Hollywood to the wrestling ring dating former WWE superstar Torrie Wilson for four years.
A-Rod’s dating life has slowed down recently making you wonder if his years of steroid use has rendered a rod to the bench.
1 1. Derek Jeter
The Yankees biggest babe since Ruth. Jeter’s roll call of females is as lengthy and illustrious as his Yankee Career. You could fill out a full nine positions on the baseball diamond. Mariah Carey, Tyra Banks, Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel. This list could also double as 'Maxim’s Sexiest Women Alive'. Jeter’s one night stand gift baskets became a thing of legend; sleep with Jeter and receive an autographed baseball!
Jeter retired from playing and soon after his days of being a player off the field ended as he took the plunge getting engaged to supermodel Hannah Davis. Poor Jeets.