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WASHINGTON—Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal may be too nice and too
limited in language skills to match his accomplishments
on the tennis court with product endorsements.
Nadal,
the 22-year-old Spaniard who won four straight French
Opens and this week became the first person to beat
Roger Federer at the All England Club since 2002, has to
improve his English and put an edge on his personality
to boost his income, sports marketing executives said.
At
Wimbledon, he defeated Federer in a five-set match that
lasted more than 4 3/4 hours, the longest final in the
tournament’s history. Afterward, he climbed into his
family’s box to hug his parents and shook the hand of
Spanish Crown Prince Felipe.
After
beating Federer in straight sets in the final at Roland
Garros in June, Nadal said he limited his celebration
out of respect for his opponent.
“He’s
old school,” said Steve Rosner, cofounder of
sports-marketing firm 16W in East Rutherford, New
Jersey. “He has class and he gets points for that. But
from a marketing standpoint, you are looking for someone
more outgoing, who really shows his personality.”
Rosner
said Nadal can make a seven-figure income just from
endorsing rackets, shoes and tennis-related products. To
become a media star on the scale of Andre Agassi, who
won eight Grand Slam tournaments before he retired in
2006, he’ll have to communicate better with more people.
Right
words
“ENGLISH
is the universal language,” said Rosner, whose clients
include Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken Jr. and
former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms.
“Andre
Agassi was one of the greatest ever; more than a
photograph or a smile. A good part of it was Andre
interacting with the television audience, telling a
story. He was more than a tennis player, he was a
personality.”
Federer,
a 26-year-old Swiss, speaks English with only a trace of
an accent. The winner of 12 majors and five Wimbledons
in a row made $8.61 million in winnings in 2007,
according to the men’s ATP Tour. Sports Illustrated
estimated his total 2007 earnings, including
endorsements, at $35.1 million.
Nadal
didn’t make the magazine’s list of top 20 non-US
athletes. So far this year, he has earned $5.49 million
on the court. His agent, Carlos Costa, declined to say
what the player made from endorsement income.
Nadal’s
endorsements
THE
Spaniard has agreements with apparel maker Nike Inc.,
car company Kia Motors Corp., Spanish bank Banco Español
de Credito SA; closely held Grupo Valentin’s watch maker
Time Force and L’Oreal SA hair-products maker.
Nadal,
the second-ranked player in the world behind Federer,
became the first man to win the French Open and
Wimbledon in the same year since Bjorn Borg did it in
1980.
The lure
of more income from endorsements won’t get him to
change, said the player’s spokesman, Benito Perez-Barbadillo.
“His
image has grown very much because of winning Wimbledon,
but it won’t change the way he is,” Perez-Barbadillo
said. “We’ve been working on his marketability for four
years. It’s very simple. Follow what he is: humble, down
to earth.”
Jim
Andrews, director of IEG Sponsorship Report, a
Chicago-based newsletter that estimates the value of
corporate sponsorships, said Nadal hasn’t publicly
addressed the most significant issue: Does he want to
become a top endorser, or would he rather limit his
sponsorships and focus on winning tennis matches?
“He is a
quiet, humble guy, who leads a normal life,” Andrews
said. “He’s not on the national party circuit, or taking
meetings with Fortune 500 types. And if that’s who he
is, that’s just fine.
“The
Wimbledon victory puts him on the list of endorsers to
consider. But until he makes an effort to clean up his
English and show he wants to get out there and sell, I
don’t think anyone will be dialing their agents
screaming, ‘We’ve got to sign this guy.’” |
