After Instagram’s official account, Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed person on the platform. Ronaldo is just one of the many sports stars that are widely followed on Instagram and other social media platforms. This just goes to show you how much popularity and influence sports celebrities have in society. For this reason, sports stars are an important part of marketing, with most of them holding some lucrative marketing deals.
What is Sports Marketing?
Sports marketing is a branch of marketing that focuses on the promotion of sports events. It also focuses on the promotion of other products and services in a variety of industries through sporting events, athletes, and sports teams. The concept generally revolves around providing clients with strategies for promoting sports and other products through the games. Sports marketing involves the use of a wide variety of sectors of the sports industry, including social media, advertising, ticket sales, community relations and broadcasting.
For instance, during the Super Bowl, companies spend a lot of money to get their products advertised during breaks and as the game continues. Athletes also get lucrative deals to promote a variety of products.
Sports marketing endorsement deals are popularly awarded to stars of some of the most common games and associations, like the NBA, NFL, and the EPL. Companies like Nike and Adidas spend millions of dollars on the deals which, in turn, in many cases earns them twice or more than the amount spent.
Why is Sports Marketing Very Effective?
One of the reasons why sports marketing is quite effective is the fact the sports industry is one of the largest sectors in the world. It is worth billions of dollars.
The Fans
Like any other business that relies on customers for its success, the sports industry relies greatly on fans as its customers. The reason why there is such a vast number of sports fans is the fact that the industry is very diverse. There are so many types of sports and people from across the world can relate to the games and the different teams. It is, therefore, safe to say that the industry caters to all demographics and genders. The increasing number of sports fans the world has significantly influenced the success of sports marketing. For instance, sports stars are some of the biggest celebrities alive hence have a lot of social pull. Therefore, endorsement deals awarded to sports stars are seen to bear a lot of fruit.
Diversity
The sports industry is perhaps the most diverse. The sector caters to men and women, kids, adults and people from different parts of the world. The reason why this is the case is that there are different types of sports. They differ based on the gender of the players, the activity (e.g., football and swimming), their nationalities, the physique, and the economic status. Therefore, when it comes to sports, no one is left out. All kinds of products can be advertised under sports marketing because sports stars and events reach a wide range of individuals. It also helps different brands gain visibility with a wide variety of potential clients.
Athletes with the Most Lucrative Endorsement Deals
Since sports marketing is quite effective financially, companies spend a lot of money to get athletes and sports teams to sign endorsement deals with them. Below are some athletes with the most lucrative endorsement deals.
- Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt is one of the most popular athletes in the world. The sports star holds the world record for 4×100 meters, 200 meters, and 100-meter relay races. He is, therefore, considered the fastest man on the planet. In addition to his success in the track, he also has quite the personality and holds some of the most lucrative endorsement deals. For instance, he is the spokesman for PokerStars. This is not unique to Bolt as a lot of celebrities promote gambling today. Such celebrities include Paris Hilton and Neymar Junior next to the ones mentioned in this article.
- Naomi Osaka
Naomi is a champion tennis player who is known for being one of the few who ever defeated Serena Williams. Like other successful athletes, Naomi Osaka signed an endorsement deal with Adidas that is worth more than 8 million dollars. Other athletes with such endorsements with agencies similar to Adidas are Lebron James and Serena Williams, who both have endorsement deals with Nike.
- Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry is an NBA MVP. Like other athletes of his stature, the star has an endorsement deal with Under Amour that earns him more than 4 million dollars each year.
- Cristiano Ronaldo
As mentioned earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most popular sports stars in the world. The football legend is also one of the wealthiest with a net worth of more than 450 million dollars. Apart from playing football as a career, Ronaldo also gets his money from endorsement deals. For example, he has been associated with Nike as one of its leading endorsers. Ronaldo reportedly makes close to 10 million dollars each year from Nike.
