Race car driver Danica Patrick finally beat the boys at their own game Sunday, grabbing the checkered flag at the Indy Japan 300. And, thousands of miles away in Florida, golfer Lorena Ochoa tied an LPGA record by notching her fourth consecutive tour victory.
Now the athletes, both 26 but with styles as different as their sports, can try to do something equally difficult: spin their winning weekend into sports marketing gold.
No matter that Sparks basketball rookie Candace Parker, yet to play her first WNBA game, recently signed sponsorship deals, with Gatorade and Adidas. When it comes to pitching goods and services, most female athletes continue to fall short of what their male counterparts earn.
No one of either sex comes close to Tiger Woods, who collected an estimated $100 million in the year ended June 2007 from off-the-course earnings, according to Forbes' Celebrity 100 list. Other male athletes high on Forbes' annual list: Oscar De La Hoya, $43 million; David Beckham, $33 million; and Derek Jeter, $28 million.
Maria Sharapova, the Russian-born tennis star who lives in Manhattan Beach, is Forbes' top-earning female athlete with an estimated $23 million from corporate deals. Among the handful of women on the list: Michelle Wie ($19 million), Serena Williams ($14 million) and Patrick ($5 million). Unlike on the golf course, Mexico's Ochoa, the sport's top-ranked woman, failed to make the cut.
The glass ceiling isn't new. In 1996, U.S. Olympic Committee executive director Dick Schultz spoke glowingly of the many successes women enjoyed in Atlanta: "These Games have belonged to the women. By their performances, they've given girls around the world athletic role models."
The "Summer of Women" turned the spotlight on female athletes in soccer, gymnastics, softball and basketball, but the attention generally didn't translate into lasting marketing success. Now they face increased competition from Hollywood stars who no longer eschew product pitches.
"That shift has really opened up the market," said Max Eisenbud, an IMG agent who represents Sharapova. "Look at Catherine Zeta-Jones with T-Mobile and Jennifer Aniston with Smartwater."
Female athletes and their sports rarely enjoy the media exposure of a Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning or LeBron James. Which is why sports marketers have their eye on Parker, who led Tennessee's Lady Vols to two consecutive NCAA titles.
