The Sp rts Market

Chapter 2 Sections2.1: Sports Marketing Profile

2.2: Categories of Sports

SPORTS MARKETING PROFILE

Sports Marketing: all of the marketing activities designed to satisfy the needs and wants of sports consumers.

Has 2 major components:– The marketing of sports – Marketing through sports

Example of 2 Components

• The promotion of the Super Bowl, the Indianapolis 500, and the Olympics through television or radio advertisements is considered the marketing of sports.

• On the other hand, when Nike, Gatorade, and Goodyear promote their products by using a connection to sports, such as a sports personality as a spokesperson, those companies are marketing through sports.

Ranking SportsRank Industry Size in billions of

Dollars1 Real Estate 850.0

2 Retail Trade 639.9

4 Health Service 443.4

5 Construction 277.6

8 Utilities 205.3

11 Sports 152.0

15 Insurance Carriers 115.4

18 Legal Services 100.5

25 Auto repair, Services, Parking

60.5

Brief History

• The beginnings of sports marketing can be traced through several events and people.

• Your task:– Look up the following and give the

significance to the history of sports marketing. – List the event and significance in your

notebook.

Events in the History of Sports Marketing

1. Longest running endorsement deal in history.– What company? With who? When did it start? When did it end?

2. William “Bill” Veeck– Explain what he did to change the atmosphere at baseball

games.– What was one of his most famous promotions in August of

1951?

3. Mark McCormack– What company was he the founder of?– Who was one of the first professional athletes (he signed) that

associated with corporations in a promotional role? (Hint: Famous golfer).

Events in the History of Sports Marketing

1. Longest running endorsement deal in history.

– What company? Wilson Sporting Goods – With who? Professional Golfer, Gene Sarazen

– When did it start? 1923– When did it end? 1999 – When he died

Events in the History of Sports Marketing

2. William “Bill” Veeck– Explain what he did to change the atmosphere at baseball

games.

He introduced the concepts of player names on jerseys, ballpark giveaways, exploding scoreboards (electronic scoreboards), and Wrigley Field’s ivy-covered walls.

– What was one of his most famous promotions in August of 1951?

He hired stage performer Eddie Gaedel who was about three and a half feet tall and weighed 65 pounds. Wearing a St. Louis Browns uniform with the number 1/8 Gaedel jumped out of a cardboard birthday cake and then stepped up to home plate to bat.

Events in the History of Sports Marketing

3. Mark McCormack*– What company was he the founder of?International Management Group (IMG)– Who was one of the first professional athletes

(he signed) that associated with corporations in a promotional role? (Hint: Famous golfer).

Arnold Palmer• *Was named Most Powerful Man in Sports by

Sports Illustrated in 1990.• Visit IMG’s Web Site at: http://www.imgworld.com/

Other Sports Marketing Firms

• A rising player in the sports marketing industry is rEvolution, a Chicago-based sports marketing and media agency who in 2005 announced a strategic partnership with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to offer unique hospitality to the semi-final and final games of the 2006 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

• This marked the first time in the event’s history the NCAA offered "The Tournament Club," a unique and convenient hospitality venue adjacent to the RCA Dome.

• http://www.revolutionworld.com/

Section 2: Categories of Sports

• What you will learn in this section:– To identify the different

categories of sports– Differentiate between

amateur sports and professional sports

– Discuss the significance of international sports

– Explain the significance of women’s sports

• Key terms– Amateur athlete– NCAA– Professional athlete– Title IX– Extreme sports

Variety of Sports

• Sports and sporting events can be classified into several categories, including amateur, high school, college, and professional. This section will explain the categories of sports and how each one varies and applies to sports marketing.

• These categories will give you an understanding of how a sports marketer can make the most of the different and specific characteristics

• The Society of Seniors (SOS) is an organization that provides competitive tournaments on fine golf courses for its more than 700 members. Its members are the best senior amateur golf players in North America.

• An amateur athlete is someone who is not paid, but plays for the enjoyment and challenge.

Visit: http://www.societyofseniors.com/home/

• A high school, college, or any other type of athlete, including a recreational player, is considered an amateur athlete.

• All types of amateur sports are growing in popularity.

• Amateur sporting events attract a large number of fans, attention, and money.

• Many communities have youth leagues, senior leagues, and a variety of other athletic organizations that attract people who have a strong interest in participating or watching a particular athletic event.

• Think and Respond: – Why do you think some people have an

interest in watching amateur athletes perform instead of professional athletes?

• Young amateur sports– Youth league basketball tournaments in major cities

attract many people. Interest may come from the players’ families and friends to potential sponsors, such as soft-drink and health care product manufacturers or local businesses.

– In addition, there are booths from sponsors and banners hanging around the court aiming to attract a target market to their products.

– Colleges and universities may be represented at these types of tournaments because they know that amateur events attract teenagers who might be interested in attending their schools.

• “America’s Original 3 on 3 Tournament”• Who might some national sponsors be?• Who might some local sponsors be for the

tournament that used to run in Buffalo?• Visit: http://www.macker.com/ to find out

who the national sponsors really are and check out the history of this famous tournament!!

• Recreational Sports– Boys and Girls Clubs of America– YMCA and YWCA– One of the biggest and oldest amateur sporting

organizations, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), was established in 1888 as a nonprofit organization to encourage children and adolescents to explore sports that they may not otherwise have an opportunity to play. Their motto is “Sports For All”

– Visit: http://www.aausports.org/ to visit the AAU’s home page.

• Recreational Sports also include a variety of nontraditional events that, though noncompetitive, are classified as sports. A few popular examples are:– Scuba diving– Rollerblading– Skydiving– Rock climbing

• These recreational events inspire people to improve their skills and exercise their physical abilities while enjoying recreational time.

• Another form of amateur sports.• Many communities rally around the success of their high school team.• Some people debate the issues involved with schools

spending money and energy in support of sporting events versus academics.

• Because of these controversies, high school organizations such as the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) set

guidelines and make sure that students benefit from a balanced educational and athletic experience.What types of guidelines should be set by the HFHS?

• Location Considerations

Regional influences affect the popularity of sports in the U.S.

In the southern states, high school football games take on the importance of college or professional football.

In central states and in New England, the sport of ice hockey interests many communities.

Visit: http://www.texashsfootball.com/

• The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), is a national organization that governs college athletics and oversees important decisions pertaining to athletics (similar to the NFHS for HS students).

• The guidelines and rules of the NCAA are posted on its Web site at www.ncaa.org

• A winning college team has economic implications not only for its school but also for the community, region, and state.

• A college community can benefit from the success of its primary sports program through revenue earned from supporting fans. The home city will benefit from the increased patronage of local businesses and a growth in jobs.

HOW ARE COLLEGES DIVIDED BETWEEN NCAA DIVISION I, II, AND III?Use this website to fill in the attached Venn Diagrams. http://www.ncaa.org/about/ncaas-three-divisions

• At large universities the types and number of sports offered are greater because the student population is larger.

• For example, at large universities, sporting events such as rowing, water polo, and fencing become highly competitive.

• In most cases, these schools also have large budgets.• Ohio State University’s athletic budget is one of the

highest in the NCAA each year. The budget provides the university with the best possible facilities and support staff to encourage winning teams.

• Visit: http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/

• As an example of an NCAA rule, players are not allowed to accept any form of payment from a school or from companies.

• This kind of rule encourages legitimate, amateur competition without unfair influence from businesses or individuals.

• The NCAA regulates all collegiate athletics, including the marketing of sporting events.

• If rules and regulations are broken, the NCAA has the power to eliminate teams from playing for an entire season and can terminate an athlete’s college scholarship.

• High school athletes can be offered athletic scholarships from major universities, but they can not be offered any additional financial rewards or other benefits to attend a university.

• Alumni and coaches who become overzealous during the recruitment process jeopardize the integrity of their university.

• Examples of recruitment violations include paying recruits bribes, giving incentives to families or recruits, and altering grade transcripts to make athletes eligible to play.

• Examples of NCAA punishments also may include shutting down programs with the worst violations.

• To keep schools on a competitive level, the NCAA created divisions determined by the characteristics of the school and the level of competitiveness of the athletes.

• For example, schools are ranked as Division I, Division II, or Division III based on student population, financial stability, and player ability.

• The NCAA ranking has an important economic impact on schools and communities, because the ranking of sports draws larger crowds to games.

• Higher divisions draw more spectators. As more people are attracted to a particular sporting event, there is more opportunity for the university to benefit from name recognition.

COMPLETE THE DIVISIONS VENN DIAGRAM!!

• Perhaps the most heavily marketed collegiate sporting event is the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship tournament, known as March Madness, where one loss by a team means elimination from the tournament.

• During the event, marketing efforts by competing schools are intense. Each school uses this time to get its name known and to attract potential markets. Potential markets can be athletic fans wanting to buy school-brand apparel, or they can be prospective students interested in attending the school.

• Sports magazines and nationally recognized sports enthusiasts determine college team rankings based on past team performance, talent, and team schedules.

• Preseason rankings influence the game schedules of the major television networks. Televised games mean more revenue for the team and its university.

• High BCS (Bowl Championship Series) standings, equate to big money and determine which teams play in the national championships. Three components are used to determine the BCS rankings – The USA Today Coaches’ Poll– The Harris Interactive College Football Poll– An average of six computer rankings from well-known sports

statisticians.

Are You Eligible to Participate in NCAA Athletics???

• Open the following document to view some quick rules for prospective student athletes.

• http://www1.ncaa.org/eprise/main/Eligibility_Center/QuickReferenceSheetforIEStandards-8-28-07.pdf

• You will also have to visit: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLN4j3CQXJgFjGpvqRqCKOcAFfj_zcVH1v_QD9gtzQiHJHRUUAc0tpTA!!/delta/base64xml/L3dJdyEvUUd3QndNQSEvNElVRS82XzBfTFU!?CONTENT_URL=http://www1.ncaa.org/membership/membership_svcs/eligibility-recruiting/faqs/initialeligibility.html • On the hand out, fill in information for what is needed to participate in

Division I and Division II athletics.

Name:

NCAA Freshman Eligibility Standards

• Division I• If you have a GPA of 3.0, what must

your SAT score be?• 620• If you have an SAT score of 820, what

does your Core GPA need to be?• 2.5• If you have the minimum GPA, what

do you need to get on the SAT to play Division I sports?

• 1010• Number of Core Courses Required:• 16Number of Semesters you have in High

School to complete the Core Courses: • Must complete in the first 8

semesters of high school

Division II• Minimum SAT Score:820

• Minimum ACT Score:68

• Grade Point Average Minimum Requirement: 2.00

• Number of Core Courses Required:14

• When must you complete your Core Courses by?

• By the time you enter as a full time student into college or university.

• Currently, athletes receive scholarships and grants for their college education. They do not have enough time in the day to work at part-time jobs for additional income. Some of the best young college athletes are tempted to sign multimillion-dollar contracts with professional sports organizations before graduating from college.

• Once a college athlete signs with an agent to help find and negotiate a deal with a professional team, he or she is no longer eligible to participate in college sports.

• In some states, proposals have been brought before the state legislature to pay college athletes.

• Do you feel that collegiate athletes should be compensated for their time (besides scholarship money) and rewarded for the money they bring to their programs?

• Explain your reasoning.

• The status of women in sports has advanced in the 20th century and especially in the last 20 years, opening up new markets for sports, with more progress ahead. As early as 1932, Olympic gold medalist Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias not only excelled at most sports, including track, golf, basketball, softball, boxing, and others, she was also an impressive sports promoter.

• She had a signature line of golf clubs, wrote books, and made personal appearances.

• Playing at the amateur and professional levels, Zaharias’s all-around skills inspired women and men, as well as sports marketers, at a time when few women received public recognition for their athletic abilities.

• Use the Internet to find the answers to the following questions.– What sport did she participate in during the 1932

Olympics?– How many medals did she win?– Why was her nickname “Babe”?– What did she do during the 1932 AAU Championships

that was so amazing?

– What event did she compete in in January of 1938?

– Why was this unique?

Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias

• On June 23, 1972, the enactment of Title IX, the Education Amendment, advanced girls’ participation in sports.

• Title IX is a law that bans gender discrimination in schools that receive federal funds.

• As a result, over a 20-year period, the number of girls participating in high school sports programs has increased nearly tenfold.

• What is Title IX? http://espn.go.com/espnw/title-ix/8022724/sporting-chance

Title IX Video Clips

• http://licensetothrive.tv/mailandmore/udr/sch/index.asp

• http://licensetothrive.org/video

http://www.kicklikeagirlmovie.com/

http://espn.go.com/espnw/title-ix/8088693/julie-foudy

SOME STATISTICS• In 1970-71, only 294,000 high school girls competed in interscholastic

sports in the United States.• By 2005-2006, more than 2,900,000 girls were participating.• Prior to Title IX, few colleges offered sports scholarships for women.• In 2005-2006 there were 2.9 million girls participating in high school

athletics. They made up 41% of high school athletes, even though they represent more than 49% of the high school student population.

• In 2005-2006 there were 171,000 women participating in college athletics. Women comprise 43% of all collegiate athletic opportunities even though they represent 55% of the college student population.

• Each year male athletes receive $137 million more than female athletes in college athletic scholarships at NCAA member institutions.

• Women in Division I colleges are over 50% of the student body, but receive only 32% of athletic recruiting dollars and 37% of athletic operating budgets.

• In 2001-02, only 44% of coaches of women's teams were women. In 1972, the number was over 90 percent.

Billie Jean King

• A key player in the advancement of women’s sports was tennis star Billie Jean King.

• She dominated women’s tennis for nearly two decades, winning her first Wimbledon title in 1962, and went on to win 20 Wimbledon titles.

• In 1972, Sports Illustrated named Billie Jean King “Sportswoman of the Year,” the first time the annual sports

award was given to a woman.

Billie Jean King

• In 1973, she challenged male tennis professional Bobby Riggs, who had publicly proclaimed that no woman could beat him.

• The event was dibbed “The Battle of the Sexes.” • King defeated Riggs, and remained a significant figure in

women’s sports history.

• Since the 1970’s, other successful women in modern-day professional sports have emerged.

• Professional sports organizations have also experienced breakthroughs.

• For example, in 1991, the

Washington Wizards named

Susan O’Malley as the first

female president of an NBA

franchise.

• Women’s amateur and professional sports organizations have also taken substantial steps to involve women in sports.

• For example, on April 24, 1996, the NBA Board of Governors approved the formation of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

- WNBA teams began to play

in June of 1997. - Since then, the WNBA has grown and produced a variety of new basketball superstars.

• Sports marketing has seriously neglected women’s sports until recently. While many fans would tune in twice a year to watch women’s figure skating and women’s gymnastics on TV, these competitions were mostly amateur.

• Although marketing was involved,

it was limited.

• When the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team won the World Cup Soccer Championship in 1991, it barely made the sports pages.

• Eight years later, due to its continued success and international popularity, fans closely watched the Women’s U.S. team win the 1999 championship.

• Women as much as men have made this sport popular in the United States.

• 2007 World Cup

• Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson are superstars in the WNBA.

• The teams and their starts have a strong following, averaging 7,739 spectators per game during the 2007 season.

• The WNBA’s web site keeps fans up to date on players, sponsors, schedules, and the latest merchandise for sale.

• Visit WNBA home page

• Salary Inequities– Women’s professional sports are becoming

increasingly popular.– However, salaries are grossly inequitable in

comparison to male professional athletes’ pay.

– ABC Sports and ESPN televise WNBA regular –season and playoff games.

THE WNBAAverage Salary = $50,000

Top Salaries = $80,000Rookie Salaries = $30,000Veteran Salaries = $42,000

THE NBAAverage Salary = $5,300,000

Top Salaries = $22,000,000

• The WNBA Phoenix Mercury is getting a significant in-state media boost due to an Arizona Department of Health Services campaign that uses the team to promote its anti-tobacco message.

• The ad campaign, tagged, “Inhale Life – It’s a Girl Thing,” is part of a three-year sponsorship that the Department of Health Services signed with the Mercury organization.

• Women’s professional football attracts players from all walks of life.

• The 11-team Women’s Professional Football League (WPFL) pays players only $1,000 for the ten-game season that runs from August to December.

• Each team roster has 40 players plus ten players on the practice squad.

• A Marketing Frontier:– The growing popularity of women’s sports

adds new female fans to the market, many of whom have been uninterested in traditional men’s games.

– Women have different interests than men, and a new frontier sure to become lucrative for creative marketers is the production of sports-related merchandise that will appeal to this new category of fans.

Many Faces of Sports Marketing Assignment• Choose a famous female athlete from

sportsillustrated.cnn.com/siforwomen/top_100/1/. No repeats in class.

• Learn more about that person and her product endorsements and other activities through Internet research.

• Create a one page diagram or graphic organizer using Microsoft Word on your person.

• Type the name of the person in a center circle and create other shapes around the outside circle. Include at least 3 pictures.

• Give each box a title that represents the woman’s activities, such as clothing and footwear endorsements, television commercials, or book deals, significant events in sports career. Include at least 7 informational boxes/shapes.

• Write information in each box, connecting each box to the center circle with a line.

Billie Jean KingTennis Pro

Book deals:Tennis to Win (1975)

Billie Jean (1974)

Sports Illustrated:In 1994, she was ranked No. 5 on

Sports Illustrated’s "Top 40 Athletes"

Wimbledon Accomplishment:Won a record 20 Wimbledon titles

Rankings: She was ranked No. 1 in the

world five times between

1966 and 1972

World Team Tennis:Co-founded World TeamTennis

(1974), the groundbreaking co-ed professional tennis league

and founded the World TeamTennis Recreational League, one of the

most popular recreational tennis formats in the U.S.

Money:First Female Athlete

to Earn $100;000 in

One Year

Spokesperson:|Now makes $20,000

- $30,000 doing speeches

• Have you ever wondered how the Olympics began?– According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were founded

by Heracles (the Roman Hercules), a son of the Greek god Zeus. The first recorded evidence of the Olympic Games shows that the first Olympic competition was held in 776 B.C. in Olympia, Greece. In 776 B.C., the only event at the Olympics was a run of approximately 192 meters (210 yards). Several years later other events such as discus, javelin, jumping, and wrestling were added.

– The ancient Olympic Games grew and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years. In 393 A.D. Roman emperor Theodosius abolished the Games because of their pagan influences.

– Coroebus – first runner champion – ran naked – 192 meters called “The Stade.”

• Olympic Revival– More than 2500 years later in 1890, a young

Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin organized a meeting with 79 delegates, who represented 9 countries, and advocated the revival of the Olympic Games to them. The delegates voted unanimously to reinstate the Olympic Games. The delegates also decided to have Coubertin organize an international committee to plan the games and oversee issues and decisions.

– This committee became the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

• Olympic Revival– In April 1896, Athens was chosen for the revival of the

Olympic Games. Since it was not well publicized internationally, contestants were not chosen by nation. Instead, athletes traveled to Athens at their own expense. Events included pole vaulting, sprints, shot put, weight lifting, swimming, cycling, target shooting, tennis, marathon, and gymnastics.

– Approximately 300 athletes from 13 countries participated.

• Present-Day Olympics– The Olympic goal is: “To contribute to building a

peaceful and better world by educating youth through sports practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity, and fair play.”

– Each time the Olympics are held every four years, the IOC increases its global membership. By 2002, the Salt Lake City, Utah Winter Games included 77 member nations with 2,399 athletes who competed in the 78 winter events.

• Present-Day Olympics– However, the Olympics have experienced problems

along the way, such as terrorist attacks, illegal drug use, and boycotts. The IOC had to determine ways to keep the Olympics in business.

– As a result, during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California, the IOC allowed 43 corporate sponsors to sell “official” licensed Olympic products. With new corporate sponsors, the 1984 Olympic Games became the first games since 1932 to make a profit ($225 million).

• The Amateur Rule– The amateur rule has prohibited professionals from

competing in Olympic events and plagued athletes and officials since the beginning of the Olympic Games. Eventually, individual sporting groups began to determine whether professionals should be allowed to compete in the Olympics. The amateur rule was finally overturned in 1986. As a result of this ruling the 1990s saw professional athletes competing in the Olympics, and television viewership increased.

• The Amateur Rule– Perhaps most memorable was the formation of the

U.S. men’s basketball team in 1992, known as the “Dream Team,” that included professional athletes such as Michael Jordan, Erwin “Magic” Johnson, and Larry Bird.

– The IOC believed that if Olympic athletes played with the best players in the world, everyone would benefit. Every team that played the Dream Team considered it an honor to be on the court with them. From a sports marketing perspective, the Dream Team was responsible for the enormous boost in popularity of basketball on an international basis.

• The Dream Team demolished international competition in the Barcelona Olympics with a 6-0 record during the qualifying tournament. They blistered their Olympic opponents by winning all eight of their games, averaging an Olympic record 117.3 points. On their way to winning the gold medal, they defeated the competition by an average of 43.8 points. The closest any team got was Croatia in the gold medal game when they lost by 32, and the largest margin of victory was 68 in the first game against Angola.

SPONSORSHIPS AND ENDORSEMENTS• Two forms of licensing (an agreement that gives a

company the right to use another’s brand name, patent, or other intellectual property for a royalty or a fee) are sponsorships and endorsements.

• The licensor is the company or individual granting the license for a fee in this legally binding contract.

• The licensee is the company or individual paying for the rights to use the licensor’s name or property.

SPONSORSHIPS

One of the most recognizable sports logos in the world is the five-ringed logo of the Olympic games. Companies pay top dollar for the right to be identified as one of the sponsors of the Olympic Games.

• Example:– An official Olympic sponsor may use the five-ringed Olympic Games

logo on product packages.– If a company such as Kodak buys the rights to sponsorship, its film and

camera products would be sold exclusively at the Olympics. – Kodak would also be included in the official Olympics program.– Association with the Olympics helps to build a positive image and to

increase sales, Kodak might provide stores with display signs promoting Kodak’s sponsorship of the Olympics and may run a contest or sweepstakes.

– These coordinated promotional efforts help to generate store traffic and sales of its products.– The publicity surrounding the Olympics will also add value to the promotional efforts of its sponsors.

Click here to see the Official Partners of the 2008 Olympics

Olympic Marketing seeks:• To create continuing long-term marketing programs and to build on

and support the successful activities developed by each Organizing Committee, thus ensuring the financial stability of the Olympic Movement.

• To ensure appropriate distribution of revenue throughout the Olympic Movement, including future Organizing Committees, National Olympic Committees, International Federations and other recognized organizations.

• Ensure that the whole world can view and experience the Olympic games via free-to-air television.

• To preserve the special character of the Olympic Games, to protect and promote the Olympic image and ideals throughout the world, and to work with all marketing partners to enhance Olympism

• http://www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/facts/introduction/index_uk.asp

• Sports events generate income from broadcast rights, ticket sales, merchandising, and sponsorships.

• Sponsorships are the promotional vehicles that financially support sports events.

• All of the major sports organizations, including the Olympics, NASCAR, PGA, NFL, NHL, MLB, WNBA, and NCAA use sponsorships to help finance their operations.

• Promotional packages for sponsors might include licensing rights, stadium promotions, product sampling, signage, product sales, billboards, hospitality opportunities, receptions with athletes, free tickets, and on-site merchandising opportunities.

SPONSORSHIPS

ENDORSEMENTS• An endorsement is a statement of approval or a

product, service, or idea made by an individual or organization speaking on behalf of the advertiser.

• Endorsements involve using a celebrity or public figure to represent and promote a company and that company’s products.

• Companies pay sports figures so they can use their images in print and broadcast media, as well as on product packaging, billboards, and collectables.

ENDORSEMENTS• Top sport endorsers come from

ALL sports, but they all have one thing in common – they all have successful careers.

• Golfer, Tiger Woods was a number one sports endorser because of his winning record and winning attitude. Some of the products that Tiger Woods used to endorse were Nike golf equipment and apparel, as well as Buick automobiles.

• Two other top product endorsers are soccer player, Mia Hamm and professional tennis player Anna Kournikova.

ENDORSEMENTS• In addition, players who look promising attract

endorsement deals. One such player is LeBron James, a former high school basketball star from Akron, Ohio.

• Before he graduated from high school to set foot on a professional basketball court for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, he was being asked to endorse products.

• James negotiated endorsement deals with Nike for $90 million (over 7 years), with Upper Deck trading cards for $6 million, and with Coca-Cola to endorse Sprite and Powerade.

• However, some athletes do not get compensated with millions of dollars but are given services or goods, such as cell phones.

LeBron James Endorsements

ENDORSEMENTS• IMAGE

– Endorsements sell products when the endorser has a positive image and is popular. In fact, image is a major factor when companies decide to renew contracts with their endorsers.

– Sports celebrities who endorse products of major companies must be role models in the public eye. For better or for worse, their personal lives are part of the image that they project for all the products they endorse.

ENDORSEMENTS• IMAGE

– Many endorsement contracts have clauses, or statements, in them that will release the company from the contract if that celebrity’s image is tainted due to problems with the law or his or her athletic performance.

– Even if a contract cannot be cancelled, it may not be renewed. A company will no longer use the celebrity because it does not want its products associated with a person who is not seen as a positive role model.

ENDORSEMENTS• IMAGE

– Bad sports figures may be very careful to monitor their public image. Bad publicity can mean the end of these profitable endorsement deals. Sports figures such as Mike Tyson, the boxer, and Ben Johnson, the former Olympic Gold medalist, and most recently Michael Vick, quarterback, lost present and future endorsement deals.

– Companies that contracted with them to endorse their products did not want to be associated with damaged public images. An athlete’s image and private life are key factors when companies choose spokespersons for their products.

MICHAEL VICK• Vick was the first player taken in the 2001 NFL draft. • In 2004, he signed a 10-year contract extension with the Atlanta Falcons that was worth $130 million. • Of that, $37 million was guaranteed in bonuses, all of which Vick has been paid. • The NFL suspended Vick in July after he was indicted.• Vick pleaded guilty to an interstate dog-fighting conspiracy charge

involving gambling. He turned himself in to begin serving time on November 19th , though he will not be sentenced until Dec. 10. He faces a maximum of five years in prison.

• Vick has also lost millions in endorsements. AirTran Airways and Rawlings sporting goods dropped him as a pitchman. Nike suspended his contract and Reebok has pulled his jersey from stores.

MICHAEL VICK

• http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2951789