In the multibillion-dollar sports industry, the most competitive contests are often fought off the playing field, where athletes, businesses, teams and events jostle for name recognition in hopes of capturing a bigger share of the entertainment dollar. So who's doing it best?

Our second Forbes Fab 40, a ranking of the world's top sports brands, reveals that Tiger Woods, Nike, Manchester United and the Super Bowl are the most valuable names in their respective categories.

To determine our list, we ranked athletes based on endorsement income relative to peers in their sport; businesses based on the amount of the enterprise's private market value attributable to its name; teams based on the portion of their overall value not a result of market demographics and league; and events based on revenue generated per day of competition. While polls can provide a whimsical take on how someone feels at a particular moment, our brand values quantify the equity built up in a name over many years.

That's why Tiger Woods holds top spot among athletes with a brand value of $82 million. Even though Woods isn't likely to see a repeat of the $105 million he earned from sponsors last year anytime soon, his remaining deals, including those with Nike, Electronic Arts and Procter & Gamble's Gillette, will still earn enough to keep him the world's highest-paid athlete in 2010, even if he does not hit a single golf ball all year. Woods' 2009 endorsement total, on which this list is based, was more than the next three highest-earning athlete spokesmen combined. Should Woods seek tips on how to rebuild a tarnished image, he should take some cues from Kobe Bryant's comeback. The Los Angeles Lakers star, who lost most of his sponsors after sexual assault charges were filed against him in 2003, is now earning more in annual endorsements than at any point in his career. Bryant's brand ranks sixth among athletes and is one of six names to appear on our list for the first time.