Kwanford Wife said:... .
And while we love to recognize how much Michelle makes as an endorser ~ keep in mind that by not winning in '02 - she lost out in about 15 million+ ... If she'd pulled off a win in '06 ~ she had the potential to make basketball player money... we're talking nike, gatoraid, cars, snack foods, kids' lines and whatever else Madison Ave. could've dreamed up...
I'm not so sure you are correct as to the numbers. According to the opinion granting Tonya's injunction (which I looked up on my legal research sites), an OGM could earn about 10 to 15 million over the skater's lifetime -- if the skater did not turn down a single chance to make a buck. However, since interest in skating has dropped off so dramatically, I doubt that this is still practicable. I think that an OGM now would bring in a bunch of ads short term, but it would die away shortly.
Anyway, Phil Hersch estimated that Kwan was earning about two to three million a year between '98 and '03 alone from all sources (COI was doing more tours per season; endorsements; the Disney deal, etc.) -- with the money she has earned over her career to date, she has probably earned as much if not more than any of the "non-entrepreneurial" OGMs (by non-entrepreneurial, I mean those OGMs who don't start their own skating shows, productions companies, etc.)