Athletes and Sponsorships

Athletes and Sponsorships

        Did you know athletes will make double, even triple off endorsements than what they will make in the sport they actually play? According to the article "Top Athletes in 2013" by Forbes magazine, Tiger Woods made 6.5 million in golf tournaments in 2013, but he made over $55 million in endorsements. So why do companies pay athletes this much? In the world we live in today so many of us are caught up in what our idols are wearing, eating, drinking, etc. We look on TV to find our favorite athlete or celebrity sporting a certain brand, so we want to get it too. That appeal factor makes sports marketing such a lucrative business, because everyone will want to buy the products their favorite athletes are using. To look at why companies sponsor athletes we must break down the two main types of advertising in which athletes might appear. According to Sportslaw.com the two main types of sponsorships athletes get are; expert endorsements and celebrity endorsements.

        An expert endorsement comes from an athlete's specific sport that he/she is in "expert in." For someone like Derek Jeter, his expert endorsements might include; baseball shoes, a baseball glove, or a baseball bat. Expert endorsements from a highly skilled athlete obviously has significant value in the marketplace. As a sponsor you want to get as many highly skilled athletes as possible under contract, as well as the best university athletic programs, because even without using them in paid advertising they provide affirmation of the product's excellence and authenticity just by wearing it on and off the field.

        Derek Jeter's celebrity endorsements would be soft drinks, food products, cars, restaurant promotion, etc.. A celebrity endorser, on the other hand, should use the product, but need not have made any kind of independent assessment as to its merits. Coke vs. Pepsi? Yeah, whatever. As long as the athlete uses the brand from time to time, and they get paid it doesn’t matter. If your endorsement agreement provides for personal appearances by the athlete, you can use them to drive traffic to your retail location, or you can use them for ad shoots to amplify the endorsement over a wider area and period of time.