Turning Olympic medals into cash

By Greg Johnson
Los Angeles Times

Saturday, August 16, 2008 4:51 PM CDT

The closing ceremony in Beijing is still almost a week away, but sports marketers are scrambling to determine which athletes are best positioned to squeeze sponsorship gold from their Olympic accomplishments.

The early favorites are the whale in the pool, the boomer’s delight and a plucky gymnast.

But converting Olympic fame into long-term corporate sponsorship deals is no sure thing, even for record-setting gold medalist Michael Phelps, seemingly ageless Dara Torres, or Nastia Liukin, the third American to win gold in the all-around female gymnastics competition.

For proof, consider the divergent post-Olympics sports marketing careers of the first two American women to win the all-around gymnastics gold.

It has been 24 years since Mary Lou Retton’s golden moment at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, yet 75 percent of Americans still recognize her name, according to Davie Brown Talent, a division of the Marketing Arm, a Dallas-based promotions agency. In contrast, only 10 percent recognize Carly Patterson, who won the all-around gold in 2004 at Athens, Greece.

That is relative anonymity in a society seemingly on a first-name basis with A-list celebrities such as Tiger, LeBron, Kobe and Oprah. Athletes such as Patterson clearly have ardent fans in their given sports, but their comparatively small numbers make it difficult for corporate sponsors to justify endorsement and sponsorship deals.

So will Liukin take over the America’s Sweetheart mantle from the 40-year-old Retton?

“Nastia is obviously benefiting from her success so far, and stands to benefit even more from the Olympics,” said Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon’s Sports Marketing Center. “But her relevancy for most mainstream sports fans disappears in about three weeks. It’s not to say there won’t be opportunity — it’s just limited opportunity. Limited but still lucrative.”

Stiff competition

The limits that Olympians face is clear from the most recent Sports Illustrated Fortunate 50 list, which is headed by Tiger Woods (at $111.9 million a year in winnings and endorsements) and ranks NBA star Amare Stoudamire 50th (at $14.9 million per year). Not a single athlete best known for Olympic performance made the list.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t some sizable paydays awaiting the stars of Beijing.

When Liukin packed her bags for China, the 18-year-old, Russian-born athlete who lives in Texas had nearly a dozen corporate sponsors ranging from AT&T to Visa.

On Friday evening in Beijing, business agent Evan Morganstein — who also represents Torres — was talking about Liukin’s new line of gymnastics products. She also joined fellow Olympians Phelps and Aaron Piersol as “athlete partners” for the PureSport performance drinks line.

And, shortly after Liukin and her Beijing roommate Shawn Johnson, who won silver in the all-around competition, return to the United States, they’ll join the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars, which will travel to 36 cities, where tickets will run as high as $79.50.

Top athletes — the squad includes Paul Hamm, who was forced out of the Beijing Games by an injury — reportedly will earn six-figure salaries for the tour. Unlike Olympics ice skaters, whose fans skew older, gymnasts appeal largely to tweens.

So Walt Disney Co. is providing the musical soundtrack — a band called KSM recorded the show’s theme song, “Hero in You” — and Fox will broadcast a two-hour television special on its MyNetworkTV.

Tour promoter Michael Burg, who has represented past Olympians and run ice skating and gymnastics tours, said that Liukin and Johnson are poised for sports marketing gold.

“Both of these kids have an appeal way beyond what some of the past figure skaters had in the way of vibrant personalities,” Burg said. “They’re both articulate, smart, warm kids who both understand the process. As a result, the marketing potential for both is relatively untapped and unlimited.”

Liukin is using her NastiaLiukin.com Web site to promote “Saving Jane,” the band behind her favorite tune — “Supergirl” — with lyrics that sum up her competitive nature: “I’m Supergirl, I’m everywhere. I’m flashing lights, they stop and stare. I’m fabulous. I’m on a roll. I’m in your head and everybody knows. I’m Supergirl.”

Already cashing in

In Phelps’ case, the cashing-in process began several years ago, and shows no sign of weakening.

With a corporate sponsorship roster that includes Visa, Nike, Speedo, Adidas, Rosetta Stone, Omega and Kellogg’s, Phelps earns a reported $5 million a year — plus a reported $1 million bonus from Speedo for tying or breaking Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in one Olympics.

And while there’s no swim tour that Phelps can use to showcase his considerable talents, he figures to be a presence in the Olympics four years from now, when he will be 27.

“He’s not going to just fall into a black hole (after Beijing),” said Scott Sanford, an executive with The Marketing Arm, which does not represent Phelps. “I think after the games you’ll see him have sustainability. And don’t forget he’ll be competing in London in 2012. People who were too young to know Mark Spitz still know who he is, just as they know Carl Lewis. They’ve got that sustainability, marketability.”

New category of athletes

Then there is Torres, the 41-year-old swimmer whose extraordinary accomplishments are prompting baby boomers to buy new swimsuits and jogging shoes. Torres has signed a book deal and will appear with Martina Navratilova at an AARP member meeting on Sept. 4 in Washington, D.C.

“I would put Torres at the top of the potential success stories out of the Games,” Swangard said. “She defines a new category of athletes at time when the boomer generation is aging. She’s got a unique and inspiring story to tell.”

Morganstein sees Torres as having the appeal of 93-year-old Jack LaLanne, whose name in synonymous with physical fitness thanks to a long-running television show, or Suzanne Somers, the actress who has built a lucrative business by pitching her own line of fitness, beauty and lifestyle products.

“The great thing about Dara is that every year she gets older,” Morganstein said. “And every year she’s going to get more marketable, more profitable, because she’s moving closer to the core baby boomer market. We’re talking 20 years of earning potential for her.”

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