He left a lot of money on the table by not waiting until now to pen his autobiography. He might have gotten and advance similar to Bill Clinton's if he auctioned it off right after Beijing.
He's 23. The peak would be right before the next Olympics, assuming he can at least make the team. He wouldn't have to perform well, just ride on the inevitable hype that would come before it. The Olympics themselves don't have a long shelf life, and the optimum time to release a book would be just before they start.
I used to be a swimmer and can certainly say, as many others have, that he is the best swimmer of all time. As for how he ranks with athletes from other sports, that is another question. I would say he would rank quite favorably in any ranking of best athletes regardless of discipline.
As for making some coin, I wouldn't worry about that. I'm sure he has more than enough already. Athletes like him don't do it for the money. They don't even do it to beat the rest. They do it to beat themselves.
34 medals for swimming--ie, 34 medals for one particular skill. The equally grueling weightlifting category has 15, and for individuals it is much smaller due to weight classes. The much...much...more varied gymnastics has only 14 medals.
ED: I might be reading that thing wrong. I'm assuming that the number in the gold medal picture is the number of medals awarded, but it says "Final(s) held". Same thing?
Well, all swimming is not the same. Different strokes use different muscle groups, which is why even Phelps has some weaknesses.
It is stacked in the swimmer's favor though. They and runners have the easiest time collecting medals, whereas a basketball player pretty much has one available.
Yes, comparing raw medal counts across sports doesn't make too much sense. You can only win 1 medal in curling, 2 in volleyball (indoor and beach), a handful in gymnastics (individual events), and a crapload in swimming.
Then again, looking at raw medal counts is a dumb measure of an athlete in the first place.
