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Yao Ming

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Yao Ming

Basketball

If there were medals awarded to the Chinese athlete with the most endorsements, Houston Rockets center Yao Ming would win gold, silver, and bronze. With at least $150 million worth of contracts to his name, Yao is pitch man for Coca-Cola, Reebok, Visa, (V) McDonalds (MCD), China Mobile and Apple (AAPL), not to mention a dozen or more Chinese domestic brands. Should the China basketball team win the gold, the 7 ft. 6 in. player's value to corporate sponsors will no doubt soar even higher.