Athletes usually get offered lucrative endorsement deals at the height of their careers, but tennis legend Billie Jean King, 64, is getting some of her biggest deals today. She stars in a string of new TV commercials for companies including Geico, NutriSystem and Merrill Lynch. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, King explains that when she came out two years prior to her retirement in 1983, she instantly lost millions in corporate sponsorships: "Everyone was so homophobic. And people wonder why people don't come out. Why, if you're going to treat us differently?" Though today she's taking advantage of the growing demand for retired athletes in advertising, she added, "I never did get the Wheaties box. Very few women athletes get anything like that." [The Wall Street Journal]
