In today's sports-crazed world, athletes like Lebron James and Tony Hawk have quickly become household names. But it's not just their sport that's making them famous.

Athletes are becoming known for their entrepreneurship and savvy business deals — earning more off the playing field than on. From personalized apparel to multimillion dollar investment companies, see why these athletes truly "score" in the business world.

Some of the biggest names include:

Oscar De La Hoya

• Sports: By age 28, boxing's "Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya had won five titles in varying weight classes, making him the youngest boxer ever to win five world titles. He has a career total of 10 championship belts and was a 1992 Olympic gold medal winner. He has generated $612 million in revenue for his 18 pay-per-view fights.

• Business: De La Hoya is the top pay-per-view earner in ring history, bringing in more than $600 million. In 2000, he released Grammy-nominated music album "Oscar" in both English and Spanish.

De La Hoya's management company, Golden Boy Promotions, consists of more than 40 fighters and numerous businesses, generating more than $100 million annually. De La Hoya personally owns more than 50% of the company.

Michael Jordan

• Sports : Arguably the best basketball player known to the game, Michael Jordan changed the way basketball is viewed. He played for the Chicago Bulls and later for the Washington Wizards, totaling more than $90 million in earnings as a player salary.

• Business : Currently, he owns the Charlotte Bobcats (which he bought for roughly $175 million) and is the face of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers. Other endorsements include Gatorade, Wheaties, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Rayovac and Hanes. His estimated worth was more than $500 million before his divorce in 2006.

Venus Williams

• Sports: Currently ranked No. 3 in the world in singles and No. 2 in doubles, Venus Williams is a professional tennis player who has redefined women's tennis. She pulled in $15.5 million from playing this year, according to Forbes.

• Business: Williams is currently CEO of her interior design firm "V Starr Interiors". She also launched her own fashion line in 2007. She is part owner of the Miami Dolphins with sister Serena. In 2001, she signed a five-year endorsement contract with Reebok International for $40 million. Her new book Come to Win was No. 5 on the New York Times Best Seller list. She was ranked number 83 on Forbes' 2010 Celebrity Top 100 list.

Tony Hawk

• Sports: Sponsored by the age of 12 and pro at 14, Tony Hawk changed the face of the skateboarding world. Over the next 17 years, he entered more than 100 pro contests, winning 73 of them and placing second in 19. In 1999, Tony Hawk landed the first-ever "900" at the X games—two and a half spins mid air! In total, Hawk invented more than 80 tricks.

• Business: Hawk is the owner of Birdhouse, one of the largest skateboarding companies in the world, and he started his own clothing line, aptly named "Hawk Clothing." He has deals with Activision, Six Flags, Kohl's, Infospace, Adio shoes, Jeep and Sirius Satellite Radio.

In conjunction with Activision, Hawk created Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Video game in 1999, which quickly became a best seller, now making him the No. 1 action-sports video game franchise. Tony continues to release video games for all gaming systems. He also released an autobiography, which was a New York Times bestseller. Hawk grossed $12 million in 2008 alone, according to Forbes.

John Elway

• Sports: Although originally drafted to the Baltimore Colts, John Elway played for the Denver Broncos. His initial contract with the Broncos was for a 6 year, $12.7 million contract. He is best known for his 15-play, 98-yard offensive series in the AFC Championship game, aptly known as "The Drive." He helped lead the Broncos to five Super Bowl appearances and two wins.

• Business: Since retirement, he has owned several businesses and writes an NFL blog. He also founded The Elway Foundation, a non-profit organization for the prevention of child abuse. He is also the owner of two restaurants and once owned five car dealerships in the Denver area. He sold them to AutoNation in 1997 for $82.5 million. He is still in the car dealership business.

LeBron James

• Sports: Drafted directly out of high school to the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James is said to show talent on the same level as Michael Jordan. Earning $19 million in his first 4 years with the Cavs, James recently signed with the Miami Heat for a little less than $16 million.

• Business: Before James even signed with the Cavs, Nike signed him to a seven year, $90 million contract. When Nike released his first shoe, Air Zoom Generation, it sold 72,000 pairs at $110 in its first month.

He also owns his own marketing agency, known as LRMR, which secured endorsements with Nike, Sprite, Glacéau, Bubblicious, and Upper Deck. In 2010 alone, James totaled $30 million in endorsements.

George Foreman

• Sports: This heavyweight champion took the boxing world by storm, with his most notable fight "Rumble in the Jungle" against Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in Zaire, Africa. Although he lost the fight, he pulled in more than $5 million for the fight alone. He won the gold medal in the 1968 Olympic Games for the United States. He was undefeated in 40 straight fights.

• Business: Over 100 million George Foreman Grills have been sold worldwide. Foreman sold the marketing rights to his grills in 1999 for $137 million—more than what he ever made in his career as a boxer. His other business ventures include a clothing line and a cleaning product line.

Dave Bing

• Sports: This seven-time all-star is named one of the NBA's 50 greatest players. Starting out with the Detroit Pistons, over nine seasons Bing negotiated his contract from $15,000 up to $450,000.

Later, he played two seasons for the Washington Bullets and ended his basketball career as a Boston Celtic. He was the sixth rookie in NBA history to top 1,600 points and held a record of 18,372 points for his career total.

• Business: In 1980, Bing launched Big Steel in Detroit. Within a decade, his steel mill was pulling in $61 million in annual sales, making Big Steel the 10th largest African American-owned industrial company in the nation. He later founded Superb Manufacturing, a $28 million-per-year metal stamping company. As chairman of Bing Group, an automotive supplier, he has sales of over $200 million.