Kobe Bryant will lose out to Celtics' Big Three again
SPORTS BUSINESS
Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen might score big in endorsements, while Lakers star still suffers because of criminal case in 2003.
They can dunk, block shots and make three-pointers, but what sports marketers want to know is whether Boston's Big Three can pitch product.
It's an assignment that conceivably could have gone to Kobe Bryant, had his MVP season culminated in another NBA championship. Yet, even before the Celtics' 131-92 victory over the Lakers in the sixth and deciding game, sports marketers were questioning whether Bryant could counter lingering concerns among casual fans who are old enough to remember the criminal case that engulfed him five years ago.
"There are still a lot of negative reactions among consumers," said Henry Schafer, executive vice president of Marketing Evaluations Inc., a Manhasset, N.Y., firm that measures consumer awareness of, and respect for, Hollywood stars and sports heroes.
So, as fans begin to turn their attention to the Beijing Olympic Games, sports marketers are scrambling to understand the potential commercial appeal of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.
Garnett, who earned his first NBA championship ring since joining the league in 1995, scored the first sports marketing goal by earning his third Wheaties cereal box appearance. Garnett already appears in commercials for Gatorade, the NBA and 2K Sports' NBA video game. He ranks eighth on Sports Illustrated's Fortunate 50 index with an estimated $31 million in income -- $9 million of which is believed to come from off-the-court deals.
"Garnett could be the big winner because he started off as a bigger winner," said Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing executive with Baker Street Partners, a San Francisco-based advertising firm.
Pierce, the NBA Finals MVP, will benefit from the media spotlight -- but he could have scored a double-double had he been selected for the U.S. men's basketball team that will play in Beijing. Pierce finished 34th on Sports Illustrated's annual list of highest-paid athletes with an estimated $17.8 million income -- with only $1.5 million tied to corporate deals.
"He went up against LeBron James and won, and went up against Kobe Bryant and won that battle, so he's arguably the best player out there," said Keith Bruce, chief marketing officer at Sportsmark, a San Francisco-based sports and event marketing firm. "But Pierce's marketability is going to have an expiration date to it, so I'd argue that he needs to move quick to seize the opportunity."
