Advertising contracts in sports: why do companies need them?

Many prestigious and established sports (and not only) brands have advertising contracts with global sports stars. This indicates that the brand is focused on a healthy lifestyle, which is immediately associated with sports and its representatives. And many companies simply attract the attention of potential buyers, who may be among the large audience of athletes. We tell you about the main contracts of famous brands with sports stars.

What do brands gain and what do they lose from cooperation with athletes?

Any sponsorship has both positive and negative aspects. For example, CocaCola’s partnership with soccer player Andres Iniesta increased sales in China by 4% and in Brazil by 12%.

Speaking of the negative impact of the athlete, we can not fail to mention Gillette, Gatorade, Electronic Arts and other brands that had a contract with golfer Tiger Woods. The listed brands lost up to $ 12 billion. It happened because of the numerous scandals of the athlete.

Also from cooperation companies receive a constant influx of subscribers in social networks, which indicates an increase in potential customers. Thus, from sponsorship with Messi to Pepsi annually come about half a million subscribers.

According to the content of the contracts, athletes are obliged to participate in advertising integrations and filming of promo videos. Some must regularly appear in public wearing items or accessories from the brand they are promoting, while not wearing items from rival companies.

Roger Federer and Uniqlo

Since 1998, Federer, according to Forbes calculations, has earned $ 126 million on the court. But almost five times more Roger brought sponsorship contracts with Rolex, Mercedes, Credit Suisse, Lindt, Wilson and the airline NetJets, which cooperate with the tennis player for many years. Since 2017, the list of Federer’s advertising partners has been supplemented by pasta manufacturer Barilla, and in 2018 Roger changed outfitters. Instead of Nike, he is now dressed by the Japanese brand Uniqlo.

The 10-year contract is estimated at $ 300 million. In the spring of 2019 Nike stopped selling Federer’s branded collection, and many fans expect that soon Roger’s name line may appear in Uniqlo stores.

LeBron James and Nike, Kia, Sprite

LeBron’s name-brand sneakers from Nike are selling well, and his partner list also includes Sprite, Intel, and Kia. The money that comes from advertising, James confidently invests in his personal business. For example, in 2018, James, along with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cindy Crawford, and skier Lindsey Vonn, founded Ladder, a company that produces clean and effective nutritional supplements. Another of LeBron’s business assets is the growing fast food restaurant chain Blaze Pizza.

Stephen Curry and Under Armour, JBL

It is the advertising contracts that bring the basketball player the most money. Curry’s consistently bright play and his positive image off the court attract very different brands: sportswear Under Armour, audio equipment JBL, bank Chase, car Infiniti and others.

To manage his marketing, philanthropic and investment projects, Curry founded SC30 in 2017, which is still running successfully today.

Phil Mickelson and Rolex

One of the largest fees of his career, $9 million, was received by golfer Phil Mickelson for defeating Tiger Woods. Yet far more than on the course, Mickelson makes his money from sponsorship contracts. His partners include KPMG, Rolex, biopharmaceutical Amgen, Mizzen+Main apparel, Callaway golf equipment and other brands. His total advertising revenue for his career is estimated at $700 million.

Lionel Messi and Pepsi, Lays, Adidas, Huawei, Mastercard

Messi has a lavish advertising portfolio. His partners include Pepsi, Lays, Gatorade, Adidas, Huawei, Mastercard and others. In 2019, the list was supplemented by luxury watch brand Jacob&Co. With this brand the footballer had a series of personalized watches worth $ 28 thousand and a circulation of 180 copies, later in the collection there were more expensive models – at $ 46 thousand and $ 150 thousand.

In the summer of 2019, the launch of the online store Messi Store came to life, which presented a collection of clothes created in collaboration with MGO.

Lewis Hamilton and Tommy Hilfiger

Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time Formula One champion and an advocate of environmental protection, sustainability and conscious consumption. In 2020, the racing driver released his fifth joint collection with Tommy Hilfiger and starred in its campaign. More than half of the items in the collection meet the principles of sustainable fashion, which means that eco-technologies were applied in the production process. For example, many items of clothing are made of organic cotton.

The collaboration combines Lewis Hamilton’s fashion preferences with the classic American style of the Tommy Hilfiger brand. It features oversize silhouettes, bright pink and purple hues, pronounced lettering, and tight graduated dyeing inspired by Los Angeles street style.

What are lifetime contracts?

There are several athletes who have lifetime contracts signed with their sponsors. This list includes seven well known personalities, including of course Portugal’s national team player Cristiano Ronaldo, who has partnered with Nike for years. Along with him, LeBron James, who received a reward of $ 1 billion, and Michael Jordan always cooperate with the brand. The second annually receives payments from the sales of the legendary model of Air Jordan sneakers.

David Beckham signed his “eternal” contract in 2003 with adidas. The total amount to be received by the footballer amounted to just over $ 160 million.

Tennis player Roger Federer also has a lifetime deal: 10 years ago, the athlete signed a contract with Wilson (the company produces tennis equipment) for an annual payment of $ 2 million. Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori also works with the same company, but the amount of his remuneration is unknown.

Track and field athlete Usain Bolt started to cooperate with the Puma brand in his school years, but only in 2013 signed a contract for permanent cooperation, under which he receives $ 10 million a year while he is competing, and $ 4 million annually will be received after the end of his career.