in an almost mythical light. If you’re bad, your name is probably “Joey Harrington.” Peyton Manning is certainly one of the good ones, having amassed an unbelievable collection of statistics, records and (most importantly) a big, fat, diamond-encrusted Super Bowl ring.

Early in his career, Peyton was considered an unrivaled talent on the field, but a corny bore off of it. After a couple of hilarious commercials and a phenomenal appearance on Saturday Night Live, the public found out the three-time NFL MVP was also a pretty funny guy who wasn’t afraid to laugh at himself.

He’s had a pretty good 2009: He threw for over 4,000 yards, earned his third NFL Most Valuable Player Award (putting him in a tie with Brett Favre for the record), watched younger brother Eli Manning win his first Super Bowl in January and raised millions for his Peyback Foundation. The guy clearly has his fingers in a lot of pies, but we’re sure he’d be willing to take any of them out to slip on another Super Bowl ring.

10. Dana White
You may not like Dana White’s smack-talking persona, but there’s no denying his influence. Since being appointed the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2001, this street-savvy marketing genius has transformed mixed martial arts from a seedy underground sport into a mainstream phenomenon. “We bought a brand that was tarnished,” White says. “We came in and marketed it the way it should have been marketed—as an incredible sport with amazing athletes.” MMA has since become the fastest-growing sport in America and one of the most entertaining spectacles in the world. In 2006 alone, it grossed more annual pay-per-view revenue than any other promotion ever, and it has only grown in popularity since, with dozens of multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals and coverage in established publications like Sports Illustrated. “It’s pretty cool,” he admits. “If you would have asked me ten years ago if this is where I would have been in ten years, I would have laughed in your face.” Given his cocky demeanor, he still might.

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