Hey, Wear This! (Sports)

Ronda Rousey: UFC's Only Female Hope

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 19:11:00 +0000

UFC 157 is now in the books and history was made as the professional fighting company held its first female bout last night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The fate of women’s mixed martial arts fell in the hands, or should I say fists, of “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey as she was set to compete in the main event of the evening. Rousey, who is considered the#1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world, has quickly become the marketing face of women’s MMA. She is young, attractive, and has graced the cover of multiple magazines.

Image Courtesy of: RondaMMA.com

Two months ago, after previously stating women would never have a place in the UFC, UFC President Dana White named Rousey as the first champion without even having to fight for it. She had an unbeaten professional record of 6-0 coming into last night’s fight, all by way of 1^st round submission with her now famous arm bar.

The opponent selected for her first fight is a rather unknown fighter by the name of Liz Carmouche. Carmouche is coming into the fight on a two loss-losing streak, and many believe she was selected by the organization to lose to Rousey and help excel the sport in the means of cash marketing opportunities. With that said, the future of the sport was riding on Rousey winning this fight without complication, whereas Carmouche comes into the fight with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The uprising of Ronda Rousey has allowed the UFC to reach a vast new audience and appeal to networks like ESPN, where they may have not been able to before. We have seen the rise of women and the benefits it can have in dollars to their sport with individuals like Danica Patrick in NASCAR, however with a loss Rousey's credibility will be damaged beyond repair, UFC fans will be let down, and worst of all, women's MMA will lose the momentum Rousey helped to create. It is so big that with a Rousey loss, we may never see a female main event in the UFC ever again.

So it began! Carmouche, a +700 underdog on most gambling sites, came out early and had Rousey in a lot of trouble taking her back and attempting a choke. However, Rousey was able to escape and take it to the ground where with only 11 seconds left in the first round Rousey locked the arm bar and just like the fight was over.

Image Courtesy of: http://www.BleacherReport.com

You could almost hear UFC President Dana White exhale for the first time in 5 minutes. His cash cow was victorious and the organization gets to maintain the relevance of women’s professional fighting.

Liz Carmouche tweets this following her loss:

Time will tell how the development of women in the vicious sport of MMA will grow. I, along many others am looking forward to seeing whom the UFC throws in the octagon with her next. Hopefully it’s somebody who can get past the first round.

Jacksonville Jaguars: New Logo Unveiled

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 23:29:00 +0000

Many things needed to change for the Jacksonville Jaguars following their NFL tying worst record in the league. New Jaguars owner Shad Khan hired a new general manager and a new head coach with the hopes of immediate improvement, and yesterday he took the next step in the rebranding of his franchise by unveiling a new logo for the upcoming season.

The new primary logo stays true to the team’s traditional colors, while featuring a slightly more defined Jaguar. For comparison reasons I also displayed the previous logo below.

Image Courtesy of: Businessinsider.com

The secondary logo, and my personal favorite, will include a shield featuring the new logo underneath a bold graphic treatment of the nickname “Jags”. This logo is meant to pay tribute to the military roots of Jacksonville.

Image Courtesy of: Sportstalkflorida.com

Image Courtesy of: PRIProductions.com

The new logo was shown around 4pm in the West Touchdown Club at Everbank Field in a press conference dubbed “2013 State of the Jaguars”. The conference also covered details such as 2013 ticket prices, stadium upgrades, and 2013 scheduling. Jaguars President Mark Lamping, who joined Khan at the conference, added, “We will bebold and our new logo type is bold.” The branding will be accompanied in 2013 by the theme, “Stand United” which the team said in a statement “universally speaks to the new era ahead for the teamand the rallying spirit of Jaguars fans for nearly two decades.” The theme is already displayed on the Jaguar’s website, social media platforms, and banners outside of Everbank Field.

The team has struggled with maintaining a competitive football team over the last few years, and personnel will be the highest priority of this offseason, but for Jaguar fans this rebranding process and improvements to the fan experience can produce new enthusiasm and excitement going forward into next season.

For more information visit the Jacksonville Jaguars website: www.jaguars.com

Also make sure to subscribe to this blog and follow me on Twitter: @Ty_Stover

Deron Williams: Hires Own Reporters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 01:37:00 +0000

Image Courtesy of: features.rr.com

Some may say there is never enough good press, and one person that knows this idea very well is Deron Williams of the Brooklyn Nets. The NBA superstar was recently reported in the Wall Street Journal to have hired his own team of beat writers to cover him and spin stories in a positive light. Their purpose, states the article, is to spread the gospel of D-Will on his website, DeronWilliams.com. Why you ask? For several reasons I gather. The most important being potential money from corporate endorsers. Here’s how it works. Deron Williams hires reporters and writers to create stories about his career as it happens. The news articles are made to read more like newspaper stories rather than just an athlete writing on a blog or something, and they’re actually pretty good! These stories are then published on his interactive website, www.DeronWilliams.com, with other Williams features and photos galleries. Thus, creating a positive working portfolio for him and his agency, Excel Sports Management, to present to potential marketers.

This isn’t entirely a new idea. Most star athletes take to Twitter to connect to their fan base, but superstars such as Kobe Bryant have been known to hire their own press from time to time. In fact, Athlete Interactive, the company that runs Williams’ site, publishes online sites for about 22 athletes, many of them Excel clients. President of Athlete Interactive, David Neiman, said one of his goals is to help these athletes "maximize their financial opportunities"—or at least prevent them from doing stupid things that wind up costing them money."You can explain to them how to do it in a way so they're not shooting themselves in the foot," said Neiman.

In the end, it’s all about promoting the brand. This kind of thinking has already landed Williams endorsements from American Express, MetroPCS, and Red Bull. I would venture to say more opportunities should be coming his way very soon, especially with the recent success of the Nets and his new address being in the mecca of advertising.

Image Courtesy of: Red Bull

To see the rest of Athlete Interactive’s client list visit their site here and be sure to follow me on Twitter @Ty_Stover or “Like” us on our Facebook page.

Notre Dame: To Receive Highest BCS Bowl Payout

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 03:42:00 +0000

If you tuned in to this weekend’s NCAA college football games you witnessed some pretty exciting matchups. Being the final week of regular season play, many of the game results will end up having championship implications. No win was bigger on Saturday than that of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The 22-13 victory over Southern California capped the Irish’s first unbeaten season since 1988. With most seniors usually being around 22 or 23 years old, I would venture to say many, if not all, of the Notre Dame roster was not alive back in 1988. Outside of Ohio State, who is banned from postseason play this year, Notre Dame is the only undefeated team, so they will be heading to the BCS National Championship game in January to likely face the winner of the SEC Championship.

Image Courtesy of: Voxxi.com

So what does this mean in terms of BCS bowl payouts? Well every football program in the nation is trying to get their teams in the hunt for a spot in a BCS bowl game because of the huge BCS bowl payouts those promoters and sponsors pay to the schools. If you are unfamiliar with the four BCS bowl games, they are the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl. Then of course the top two ranked teams play in the BCS National Championship. Most teams who reach these games receive over $23 million just to participate. Notre Dame, however, is a little bit different because they do not play in any BCS conference, such as the SEC, ACC, PAC-12, or otherwise. Notre Dame is an independent, and because of this status they are only to receive $6.2 million for their participation this year. Now, if you are thinking this is an unfair take for the Irish you’ll soon see why its not.

Image Courtesy of: bcsknowhow.com

Conferences who qualify have provisions that force bowl money to be shared among all conference members after expenses, such as travel, are taken out. So, for instance, if Florida makes it to the Sugar Bowl, then other in-conference teams like LSU and Arkansas will see a pay day as well because they are members of the same conference. Notre Dame on the other hand keeps it all for themselves. A recent article in ESPN explained how this worked last year for the SEC:

The conference bowl distribution to each school was $2.85 million, bolstered by both Alabama and LSU making the title game, which brought in an extra $6.2 million to the conference for Alabama’s at-large selection. Alabama and LSU kept $1.9 million each for participating in the national championship game, meaning each would have earned $4.8 million.

Image Courtesy of: BCS

And, that only happened because both schools in last year’s championship game were in the same conference. So, win or lose Notre Dame will be laughing all the way to the bank with the biggest BCS haul yet.

For more information about the Bowl Championship Series and its rankings visit www.bcsfootball.org

In-Game Advertising: Let's Get Political

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 21:12:00 +0000

Today advertisers are doing everything they can to get in front of the consumers they desire the most. With today being Election Day in America I wanted to take a moment to investigate the advertising we all love to hate, political advertising. I’m not talking about those pesky negative ads about how much the candidates are trying to end Medicare or raise the deficit. I’m talking about advertising in video games. This is not a new idea for this form of media. In-game advertising or IGA, as it’s commonly referred to, dates back to the late 70's in computer games. With the decline of commercials watched on television due to TiVo and DVR allowing us to skip breaks between content, video game advertising is on the rise. Some sources forecast revenue from this advertising to reach $1 Billion by 2014.

Image Courtesy of: IndustryGamers.com

President Obama has demonstrated how crucial the swing states are in this presidential race by once again enlisting the virtual battlegrounds of the online video game world. In a recent article it was reported that the Obama campaign would be running ads in popular video game titles from Electronic Arts to include the sports title Madden NFL 13 and Need For Speed. These ads are aimed at encouraging the gaming demographic to vote.

So does it work? Well according to a survey conducted by EA in 2008, they found that 50 percent of gamers were more likely to vote for Obama after seeing him in in game ads. Some of the ads have been running on multiple video games for over a month now as seen below.

Image Courtesy of: NPR.org

Certainly this has made the already lucrative gaming business even more so. I’m interested to see how this shift to gaming to supplement other advertising channels will affect the industry.

For more information about in-game advertising visit this liaison for IGA: http://www.reloadedadvertising.com/

Blake Griffin: Jordan Brand's Newest Star

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 23:57:00 +0000

Image Courtesy of: Jordan

Yesterday Nike announced that two-time NBA All Star Blake Griffin will be moving from Nike Swoosh Brand, which he signed with during his rookie season in 2009, to Nike Inc.’s Jordan Brand. We all knew this announcement was just a matter of time when Blake was wearing the Jordan Super.Flys on opening night against the Grizzlies. Griffin joins teammate Chris Paul, the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and some notable rookies. Many believe Jordan Brand has recently made moves due to the departure of Dwayne Wade to Chinese shoe brand Li-Ning.

Michael Jordan recently spoke on the topic via press release:

"We are thrilled that Blake is joining the brand," said Jordan. "Blake has captured the essence of what the brand stands for through his style of play and love for the game of basketball. He is an amazing athlete and person who we look forward to working with for many years."

Griffin will continue to wear the Jordan Super.Fly (seen below) throughout the entirety of the season, and at this point it is uncertain if he is to receive his own signature shoe in the future.

Image Courtesy of: theshoegame.com

Image Courtesy of: Bleacher Report

ESPN.com reports that Jordan Brand, a subsidiary of Nike, accounted for 71 percent market share of the U.S. basketball shoe market in 2011. Jordan Brand has recently expanded its athlete roster into sports other than basketball, most notably football with the signing of NFL wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Andre Johnson. Other sports include baseball, track and field, and even NASCAR racing.

Image Courtesy of: incultur3.com

So what does this mean for us consumers? Well, Blake has shown us his comedic side in the past commercials, so I would be looking forward to something interesting soon enough.

For more information and news on Jordan Brand footwear and apparel visit: http://www.nike.com/jumpman23/

Interview with Anthony Stevenson: Madden NFL Football

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:48:00 +0000

Madden NFL Football is easily one the most popular titles in all of video gaming history. A lot of that has come from the ever-rising popularity of football in America and another part comes from the creative product managers and marketers who position the game perfectly for the evolving consumer market. I got a chance to speak with one of the most pivotal people in this product management process, Anthony Stevenson of EA SPORTS in Orlando, Florida.

Hey Wear This (Sports): First and foremost, thank you so much for your time. Let’s start off by telling me your current industry position/job title at EA SPORTS.

Anthony Stevenson: Director of Marketing.

Image Courtesy of: EA Sports

HWT: How long have you been with EA?

AS: About 6 years. My first launch was Madden NFL 08.

HWT: So you just had your Madden NFL 13 release about two weeks ago, just out of curiosity how are your sales numbers stacking up compared to previous years?

AS: We’re thrilled with the success of Madden NFL 13 to date. We’ve broken day 1 and week 1 sales records and smashed previous highs for online usage. Sales are up high single digits vs. last year, which is quite a feat considering the downward industry trends this late in the console cycle.

HWT: Many will say the amount of which you sell this game is outlandish because it’s basically the same reproduced product year after year. As a product manager, what do you say to combat this argument?

AS: Consumers are more savvy than ever. If we put out the same game, we wouldn’t sell 6M copies a year. A tremendous amount of hard work and resources goes into driving innovation into each year’s game. Our goal is always the same. Make last year’s game obsolete by delivering the most authentic football experience ever.

HWT: What sort of innovative features will we see in Madden NFL 13 that we have never seen in previous editions of the game?

AS: How much time do you have? This year’s game is the single biggest overhaul in franchise history. And that’s not just coming from me, that’s written in the vast majority of our product reviews from press, and more importantly, directly from our fans on Twitter and Facebook. While I could go on for quite a while about innovation, I’ll stick to the “Big 3.” It starts with the all-new, physics-driven Infinity Engine, which delivers the most authentic gameplay in Madden history. Simply put, no two plays in Madden 13 will ever look or feel the same- and fans of the franchise will notice this within seconds of playing this year’s game. Next is a new mode called Connected Careers. In Connected Careers, you can build your own legacy as a player or coach, or relive a legends. We’ve taken the best aspects of Franchise and Superstar mode and combined them into one, socially connected universe. It’s truly a huge leap in sports game career modes. Last, but certainly not least, is our new Xbox 360 Kinect functionality. For the first time ever, you can truly feel what it’s like to control the line of scrimmage like an NFL quarterback or linebacker as you change plays and direct your pre-snap offense and defense using just your voice. It’s really pretty amazing. Again, that’s just a taste of what’s new this year. It’s easily the deepest Madden we’ve ever created.

HWT: With the online functionality in gaming as a whole users now have the ability to download updated rosters and player attributes based on what is really taking place in the NFL. Have you found this feature to be less stressful because you can have users download updates or more stressful because the users now want the game to be constantly evolving?

AS: Our entire brand is built on authenticity, so whether it adds stress or not, our game needs to accurately reflect the current state of the NFL all season long, and that includes player and team ratings. More than ever, Madden NFL is becoming less of a product and more of a service. Something you purchase, but continues to be updated over time, continuously adding value back to the consumer.

HWT: What has EA SPORTS done to identify, track, and eventually capitalize on their target market in relation to this product?

AS: Wow, that would take an incredible amount of words to adequately answer. Let me just say this, we have a cross-functional team that is in the hundreds of people who are responsible for bringing this game to market every year. We are engaged in daily, if not hourly conversation with our consumers, especially given today’s social environment. Our fans don’t want to be marketed to, they want to be marketed with and we spend almost every minute of time in the office doing exactly that. Every decision we make is informed by our consumers.

HWT: What always seems to be a cool draw of the game are the cover athletes. When did that all start?

AS: Madden NFL 2001 with Eddie George. It’s evolved quite a bit since then, especially over the past 2 years with the Cover Vote. I don’t think there’s anything like the Madden cover in the sports entertainment industry. We are the new Wheaties box, and it’s pretty cool!

Stevenson with this year's cover winner, Calvin Johnson.

HWT: For the last two years the Madden NFL cover has been presented in a tournament bracket style where the power is placed in the fan’s hands to vote on who they want to see represent the game. How did this idea come about? And what benefits have you seen gained by implementing this format?

AS: The idea literally came from a 10 minute exercise at my desk 2 years ago. We were facing an NFL lockout and I wanted to come up with a way to turn all the negative consumer sentiment around the NFL into positive engagement. It was just before NCAA March Madness, so the idea to throw a bunch of player names into a bracket just kind of clicked. Fast forward to this year, we had 20M votes, 200M daily impressions for 8 straight weeks, and unprecedented levels of social engagement. The Cover Vote is now the most successful cross-platform fan engagement program in EA and ESPN history.

HWT: It seems that EA Sports allows it’s marketing teams to be very creative in the ways they get the Madden name out there. What other things have you and your team done in the past few years to really go above and beyond to market the game?

AS: You’re absolutely right. We have an incredible amount of freedom to deliver unique programs and touch points for our fans. In addition to the Cover Vote, we have the annual Madden NFL Pigksin Pro-Am that airs in primetime on NBC, which is a celebrity and athlete flag football game seen by over 5M people each year. Thanks to the success of that event, we are debuting the inaugural Madden NFL Skills Challenge this holiday, which will air on ESPN, ESPN2, and NFL Network in November. Plus, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Madden Bowl, our annual Super Bowl event that features the biggest stars in the NFL coupled with musical performances by some of the greatest performers today, including Nas, Outkast, Snoop, and more. These events are absolutely unparalleled in our industry, so we’re so proud to be a part of them.

Stevenson at this February's Madden Bowl in New Orleans.

NWT: Can you tell me about some ideas that we might see in the future editions of Madden?

AS: Nope. (laughing)

NWT: Last question, you can’t escape the history of the “Madden Curse”. Many players such as Eddie George, Marshall Faulk, Daunte Culpepper, Donovan McNabb, Shaun Alexander, and Vince Young never again had the production they had before gracing the cover of Madden. What are your thoughts? Real or ridiculous?

AS: It’s both. It’s real, because you can’t run from the stats. It’s ridiculous because usually our athletes grace the cover the year after a monster statistical season, so of course you are going to see regression to the mean. As far as injuries go, these guys are on the Cover because they have the ball (or are chasing it down) more than any of the other players on the field, so injuries are going to happen. How many running backs make it through a season without injury….maybe 10-20%? I’ll tell you this though, the Curse is definitely part of pop culture and we enjoy the conversation.

NWT: Thank you again for your time and best of luck to you in the future.

For more information on Madden NFL 13 or any other EA Sports title visit their website: http://www.easports.com/

Robert Griffin III: The Product

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 01:46:00 +0000

If at some point you’ve never heard the name Robert Griffin III, or as many know him as RG3, you more than likely have by now. If not you don’t watch much television. That's because Robert Griffin III is said to be the most marketed NFL rookie of all time. That means higher than other highly visible rookies including Reggie Bush, Michael Vick, and even, dare I say, one Timothy Tebow. All this before he has even played in an official NFL game.

Image Courtesy of: Washington Redskins

Griffin’s marketing agent, Mark Heligman at Creative Artists Agency said, “The primary factor is that Robert had the desire to do it. He was interested in marketing from Day 1."

So what is it about Griffin that is so different? Is it just a tale of the time? Does it have anything to do with his race? Being a highly touted black quarterback isn’t extremely uncommon. There was Jamarcus Russell and Vince Young. Maybe it has something to do with his intelligence level. Griffin was the class president of his high school and graduated 7^th overall in his class even with football and a state champion level track career taking the majority of his time. From there he was offered a scholarship to Stanford, but declined due to the school’s commitment to the future first overall NFL Draft selection, Andrew Luck. Griffin would go on to chose Houston to remain close to home and play under coach Art Briles. Of which he followed to Baylor University before his commitment deadline. What does that have to do with his intelligence? He graduated from Baylor in only 3 years with a 3.67 GPA and was working on his master’s degree while completing his final year of college sports eligibility in the nation’s spotlight. If you watched any of his interviews during and after his college career you probably found him to be surprisingly refreshing with reference to his speaking ability. This can be seen in his ESPN E:60 interview conducted before the NFL Draft.

So intelligence is good, but I’m pretty sure other rookies including that Andrew Luck character I alluded to earlier to be pretty intelligent as well. Maybe it has to do with his strong upbringing. Griffin was born on an Army base in Okinawa, Japan to Army parents. He speaks of discipline always being present in the household. He was quoted earlier this year in an ESPN article saying, "My parents were huge on discipline. It was yes sir, no ma'am," Robert says. "And if you say you're going to start something, you finish it." This state of humbleness may be part of the reason that he ended up going back to the gym in his hotel after winning the Heisman trophy as the nation’s best football player instead of going out and celebrating. By the way, did I mention he ran the fastest 40-yard dash time for a quarterback in 12 years and that he was invited to take part in the Olympic qualifiers in track after high school. So maybe it’s his speed after all. I do know one thing, whether it’s his intelligence, upbringing, or his amazing athleticism RG3 is a highly marketed man. From completing his reign at Baylor until now Griffin has been involved in promotions for Gatorade, Subway, and Electronic Arts to name a few. His largest deal, as told by his marketing agent, is his deal with adidas. In which Mark Heligman was not forward with the terms, but is said to be the largest rookie deal since Reggie Bush. Griffin has since been featured in several adidas ads such as the one below.

Overall, only time will tell if these companies have chosen the face of their marketing correctly, but for now RG3 is smiling all the way to the bank.

For more with Robert Griffin III’s marketing agent, Mark Heligman read this Q&A article: LINK

Interview with Ryan Earls: NFL Agent

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 23:01:00 +0000

Negotiation is a highly important factor in the world of sports. And in professional sports it is usually an agent that has the responsibility of making their athlete client not only employed but also satisfied with the salary and other bonuses offered by the organization. Hey Wear This (Sports) recently caught up with NFL Agent Ryan Earls of Cover3 Representation to answer a few questions about the job of an agent.

Hey Wear This: Thank you for taking some time out for me. Can you tell me your name and current industry position/job title?

Ryan Earls: Ryan Earls, CEO Cover3 Representation. NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor.

HWT: How long have you been working within the sports industry and more specifically with athletes?

RE: 2 years

HWT: Many professional athletes believe they are undervalued and have been building an ego since their prep years. How do you separate the person from the problem, or should I say ego from the problems at negotiation table?

RE: This one has not been an issue for me. I spend a lot of time making sure I represent guys who don’t feel entitled. This has eliminated many of these types of headaches. It's also important to go over expectations with a client about what you think may happen so you are both mentally prepared to deal with all scenarios.

HWT: Have you heard of cases where an athlete was just too difficult to deal with and lost endorsements or other deals because of it? If so please explain.

RE: Chad Johnson. I don’t think anyone wants to sign him to an endorsement deal at this moment.

Image Courtesy of: CNN

HWT: Athletes and Agents/Managers have a give and take relationship. In what ways do you believe you and your clients gain mutual benefit?

RE: I provide my clients with knowledge and foresight into likely scenarios whether it is contract negotiations or roster cuts. I get paid a % of their contract for my negotiation skills and helping them navigate the rigors of sticking to an NFL roster.

HWT: Objective criteria are important when making negotiations. How often do you refer to industry standards such as profit splits and commission when making your agreements?

RE: Profit splits might be a negotiation tactic with a small company in a marketing deal. It is not used when negotiating an NFL contract. We are bound to negotiating within the parameters of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

HWT: When a client of yours is performing well do you utilize that increase in performance as leverage? If so how?

RE: Again, this will depend on the parameters of the CBA. For instance I have an undrafted linebacker who is performing well. He is on year 1 of a 3-year deal. We are not able to renegotiate until the end of year 2. We will then pull veteran contracts that got new deals recently who have had similar stats. We will use that as a base for negotiation.

Image Courtesy of: SoundCloudReview.com

HWT: If you could change something about how your industry is perceived or handled what would it be?

RE: That agents prey on college kids. It's simply an untrue stereotype.

Also, being an agent is NOTHING like the movie Jerry Maguire.

I would like state-by-state regulation to be replaced by federal regulation. There are too many different laws and it's just a money making scam for the states anyways.

HWT: I want to thank you again for your time and effort in this interview and best of luck in your future endeavors.

I wanted to highlight some important lessons I learned from Ryan in this interview. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending how you look at it, objective criteria is a forced issue as the commission of an NFL agent is capped under the Collective Bargaining Agreement utilized by the NFL players association. That agreement ensures that an NFL agent is not to receive more than 3% of their client’s playing salary. Of course endorsement and other arrangements made by the agent could garner upwards of 10% to 15%.

I thought the Jerry Maguire comment was pretty funny, but it is good to know all NFL agents are not preying on college kids. This has been in the sporting news several times in the cases of Reggie Bush, OJ Mayo, and many others. Where an agent has a “runner” pay a college athlete while still in college to secure the athlete’s spot within the agency when they graduate. This is a very risky business and looked down upon by legitimate NFL agents.

Lastly it is important to know talent isn’t everything when it comes to the negotiation table. Many All-Pro caliber players are denied even the smallest of contracts and endorsements due to their antics on and off the field. Teams would rather avoid the potential headache than take the risk in many occasions, and it is very important as an agent to keep your client’s in line with the rules and understand the financial burden that could come by not doing so.

I want to thank Mr. Earls again for his time and to visit the website of Cover3 Representation: click here.

Tiger Woods: No Longer Highest Paid Athlete

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:45:00 +0000

The reigning world’s highest paid athlete, Tiger Woods, has lost his crown. This year’s “Fortunate 50” released by Sports Illustrated reflects Woods relinquishing his title for the first time since the publisher started its financial tracking of athletes in 2004. In fact, Tiger Woods is not even number two in the recent estimates. That spot goes to rival golfer Phil Mickelson.

Image Courtesy of: BSO

The report is compiled using a total of the athlete's salary, winnings, bonuses, endorsements and appearance fees. So who is number one you ask?

Well his nickname should give it away. It’s none other than the face of professional boxing, Floyd “Money” Mayweather. Mayweather had an outstanding financial year bringing home $40 million in his win over Victor Ortiz in September and $45 million in his most recent fight with Miguel Cotto.

Image Courtesy of: MailOnline

Woods has been long battling to maintain sponsors since the news of his infidelities and sex scandal hit the post more than two years ago. CNN Money shows Woods’ estimated endorsement income dropped from $92 million annually in 2009 to $60 million in 2010 and in 2011, only $54.5 million.

Image Courtesy of: GamingShogun.com

Several high profile sponsors, such as Gatorade and General Motor’s company Buick jumped ship shortly after the scandal. Other notables included communications powerhouse AT&T and Gillette. However Woods’ largest sponsor Nike stuck by his side reportedly paying him $35 million a year throughout the ordeal. Woods also barely maintained his relationship with video game maker Electronic Arts for the licensing of Tiger Woods PGA Tour, in which he has shared the cover with another athlete or wasn't even on the cover since 2010.

Fortunately for Tiger, Kobe Bryant has shown us in the sporting world all scandals will be forgotten as long as you win, and Tiger has been doing just that. He now leads the PGA with three victories this season and with the British Open this weekend in England this could be the major championship that allows Tiger to put the past behind him and make strides towards the top of the highest paid list next year.

In case you were wondering this is how the top 10 looks:

1. Floyd Mayweather
2. Phil Mickelson

3. Tiger Woods

4. Lebron James

5. Kobe Bryant

6. Alex Rodriguez

7. Payton Manning

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr

9. Derek Jeter

10. Larry Fitzgerald

To review the entire list - Visit the online link here.

Adidas is "All In" with Latest Ad Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 00:45:00 +0000

Global brand Adidas is “all in” with its newest ad campaign. A campaign that the company says is its most expensive ever. Commercials for the campaign feature an array of endorsed athletes and musicians. It is the first time in the company’s history that the manufacturer will showcase their Sport Performance, Originals, and Sport Style sub brands together in one campaign.

Image Courtesy of: mvlnunez.blogspot.com

Image Courtesy of: Oregonlive.com

President of Adidas America, Patrik Nilsson says, “This is a campaign that will show the breadth and depth of the Adidas brand.” The commercials illustrate the company’s efforts to appeal to people interested in sports, music, and fashion alike. No specific or individual product was highlighted in the commercial spots, just a growing collection of endorsed stars in their authentic, professional surroundings. The features ranged from NBA star Derrick Rose and soccer star Lionel Messi to pop sensation Katy Perry and rapper B.O.B. The company website describes the “all in” campaign in a simple way, and that is when you love your game, whatever the game, you put your all into it.

A full 60 second commercial can be seen below, while shorter 30 second spots can be seen on large rotation on MTV, ESPN, and FOX.

Adidas also kicked up their Olympic presence recently by releasing "The Albert"as the official soccer ball of the London Olympic Games. The ball has the London 2012 logo and features the newest design features as well as striking colors to match the 2012 Games color palette. The ball will be utilized to kick off the tournament in Cardiff, the largest city in Wales, on July 25th. The tournament will be held just two days before the Opening Ceremony. SoccerReviews.com offers the following descriptive ball data:

Image Courtesy of: ProDirectSoccer.com

"The Albert features a series of triangular panels that are thermally bonded together to ensure a true, stable flight path. Covering each panel of the ball is a grip texture which supports boot to ball contact and enhances ball control. Beneath the outer surface of the ball is a woven carcass and a new bladder for increased air retention and reduced water uptake. ‘The Albert’ meets and exceeds all FIFA Approved Standards for an Official Match Ball making it the most tested ball adidas has ever produced."

In the social media realm of things Adidas showcases their many endorsed athletes and teams on their Official Facebook page.

Ben Saunders: An Inspirational Explorer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 May 2012 23:57:00 +0000

I came across a motivational piece recently on TED.com about an adventure athlete and Brand Ambassador for Land Rover named Ben Saunders.

In 2004, Ben became the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole, and in October of this year he plans to a lead a three-man team to be the first ever to make a “return journey” to the South Pole on foot in an expedition named Scott 2012.

A “return journey” simply means from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back. And I use the word simply very lightly as this expedition will be 1,800 miles long (roughly 69 back-to-back marathons) through some of the highest elevated and windiest cold conditions on Earth, and is calculated to take four months to complete. The last to try it, Captain Scott and his team, of which the expedition is amply named after, all perished in their attempt. Outside of Land Rover, Ben Saunders will have to support of Nikon, Oakley, and tentmaker Hilleberg on Scott 2012.

In the 18 minute attached video Ben gives the audience an inspirational and thrilling story of his adventure to the North Pole, of which he had to overcome an attack from a polar bear, frostbite, and lack of food to name a few things. He speaks of a point in his trip where he travelled 7 hours to realize he had gone 2.5 miles backwards due to the ice he was travelling on being moved by the currents of the water below. Also interesting was how he used historical events to put in to perspective what types of challenges he was facing throughout the journey and brought humor throughout. He ends the speech by reading a negative school report from a teacher of his stating that Ben “lacks sufficient impetus to achieve anything worthwhile.” Where he followed that up by saying something that I believe could help us all through obstacles in our life, whether professional or personal, and that is “no one else is the authority on your potential. You're the only person that decides how far you go and what you're capable of.”

You can follow Ben on his blog - http://scott2012.org/ as he builds up to and embarks on Scott 2012 this October.

Other pages of Ben’s:

Tumblr: http://blog.bensaunders.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/polarben

Cristiano Ronaldo: World’s #1 Athlete…in social media

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:37:00 +0000

27-year-old international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has to deal with constant debates whether he is the best player in the world or not. Though there is no question that the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year is number one when it comes to his social media exposure off the field. Cristiano has over 42 million “likes” on Facebook. Which are a whooping 8 million more “likes” than any other athlete worldwide. By comparison, other massive branded athletes such as Michael Jordan and David Beckham have only 17.3 million “likes” apiece.

Image Courtesy of: www.facebook.com/cristiano

Then there’s his Twitter account. Cristiano has over 8 million Twitter followers, which is more than Lebron James, Tiger Woods, and Lance Armstrong combined!

So what does this all mean in terms of value? Big bucks of course! Imagine the impact one message could have when 42 million people are following you. Sports apparel company Nike knew that value when they signed him to a 32.5 million dollar endorsement deal in 2010.

This post was left on his twitter page to promote his new Nike “Mercurial Vapor” cleats.

Image Courtesy of: @Cristiano

Image Courtesy of: SB Nation

Armani showcases the good looks of Cristiano in underwear ads that are sure to get female attention.

Coca-Cola and Castrol Motor Oil also cash in by featuring the star in multiple commercials and media appearances.

Image Courtesy of: App Store

The latest buzz occurred just over a month ago when the official Cristiano Ronaldo app was released free of charge for the iPhone and Android market. The application will allow for Cristiano’s enormous fan base to be even closer to him with up to the minute news, tweets, pictures, video, and other exclusive content all in one place. He also utilizes this app to interact with his fans by having contests and giveaways.

The app can be downloaded here from the App Store.

So if you want to keep Cristiano Ronaldo’s social media reign going visit the below links to his Facebook and Twitter pages.

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Cristiano

Twitter - http://twitter.com/Cristiano

2012 Olympics Cause Endorser Frenzy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:37:00 +0000

Image Courtesy of: London2012.com

The Summer Olympics only occur once every four years, and with the 2012 Olympic Games in London just around the corner America’s highest skilled athletes are enduring their hardest of training regiments. The world will be watching as the torch is lit in late July, and advertisers are taking notice of the future marketing potential these athletes have going into the summer games. Before the 1970's endorsing Olympic athletes was completely illegal, however to better the image and interest of the games the Olympic Committee released some guidelines for endorsers to follow and it has since been marketing gold!

With swimming being the number one sport in television ratings during the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, Procter & Gamble signed the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps, to a seven-figure deal to represent their Head & Shoulders shampoo brand. He is not alone in the pool though, other swimmers have cashed in too. 44-year-old Dana Torres is in the pursuit of making her unprecedented 6^th Olympic team and will have some help with her recent partnership with Ben Gay and McDonalds to name a few. Ryan Lochte has increased his exposure with the help of Gatorade. Lochte is touted as the "Fastest Swimmer in the World” in Gatorade’s new ad series “Win From Within” seen below.

Image Courtesy of: Seiko USA

Swimming is not the only group of athletes cashing in on their time in the spotlight. US Women’s soccer star Hope Solo has utilized her fame from on the field and ABC’s Dancing With The Stars television series to announce a new partnership between her and watch company Seiko. Solo also pushes other endorsers such as Bank of America and Nike.

The list of endorsed athletes goes on and on as the advertising platform will be huge this summer, and no large company with the assets to advertise will be left out. With 122 days left until the games begin the endorsement frenzy to sign the soon to be superstars is likely to continue for a few more months before the athletes have to step away and take care of business on the world’s stage in London. So when you see a billboard, read a magazine, or watch TV make sure to keep an eye out for your favorite Olympian. Go USA!

TaylorMade Golf Promises 17 Yards With New Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:56:00 +0000

Image Courtesy of: taylormadegolf.com

The newest in social marketing campaigns have struck the PGA Tour! The latest guerrilla tactic was used by TaylorMade Golf to promote a new line of clubs called RocketBallz or RBZ for short. In this weekend’s WGC – Cadillac Championship TaylorMade sponsored golfers were asked to wear hats with simply the number “17” on the front.

After some research on the web one could find the “17” represents the number of yards the new Rocketballz 3-Wood would gain their respective users in a golf shot over the other leading competitors. These hats also featured the hashtag “#RBZFactor” embroidered on the side for use on Twitter and other social media outlets. With nearly every tour pro covered from head to spike in sponsor names and logos, TaylorMade is doing what it takes creatively to separate themselves from other brands.

Image Courtesy of: taylormadegolf.com

TaylorMade is no stranger to this type of campaign. Just a few weeks ago at the Northern Trust Open, conveniently beginning on Valentines Day, TaylorMade endorsed athletes wore simple white hats with a red heart on the front and hashtag “#DriverLove” on the side. This was a campaign representing the new R11S series of drivers recently released. A website is provided by TaylorMade for fans to upload pictures showing their love for the new clubs. Click Here if you wish to share one of your own. Some pros were also seen with club covers featuring the same heart.

Image Courtesy of: MyGolfSpy

Image courtesy of: PGA Tour

Luckily for TaylorMade their marketing efforts cashed in big this week as all eyes watching the tournament witnessed Justin Rose nearly escaping Bubba Watson for a one stroke win. Justin walked away with the WGC – Cadillac Championship title and the “17” on his hat was front and center for all those watching. A true endorsers dream!

@TaylorMadeGolf tweeted the following congratulating Rose on the victory:

“Awesome to see @JustinRose99 win in "RBZ 17" hat. Also had 3-wood 15.0 in the bag #RBZFactor”

I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to what else TaylorMade has up their sleeves. I’m also intrigued to see how this makes other leading golf companies such as Nike, Titleist, and Calloway step their game up in the future.