Most Marketable Athletes in the USA

Street & Smith’s Sports Business Daily conducted a survey to determine which athletes are the top Sports Endorsers in North America. They surveyed 65 of the top sports business and media execs to determine the rankings. Below are the results:

Most Marketable Athletes (active)
1. Tigers Woods
2. Peyton Manning
3. LeBron James
4. Derek Jeter
5. Dwayne Wade
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Tom Brady
8. Shaquille O’Neal
9. Maria Sharapova (female)
10. Kobe Bryant
10. Brett Favre
10. Sidney Crosby
13. Shaun White
13. David Beckham
15. Jeff Gordon
15. LaDainian Tomlinson
17. Roger Federer
18. Kelly Slater
18. Tony Hawk
20. Jason Taylor
20. Reggie Busch
20. Michelle Kwan (female)
23. Teemu Selanne
23. Phil Mickelson
23. Albert Pujols
23. Vince Young
23. Lance Armstrong
23. Alex Rodriguez

A couple of interesting things about the list. First, the lack of women on the list – there are only two who made it. That echoes the lack of success the USTA, LPGA & WNBA have had in making their stars more attractive to the general public. And it probably is a trend that will not be turning around any time soon, because Michelle Kwan is on the backside of her career. So Sharapova is the only woman, in a strong position, that is on the list.

The other very surprising result is the strong emergence of the young athletes. The under 25 set takes up almost a 1/3 of the list. And LeBron, DWade, Sidney Crosby, Reggie Bush and Vince Young are going to be around for a long time. So if they can keep their Q rating high, then expect them all to be mainstays in this list’s top 10 for the next decade.

What’s the most desirable athletic endeavor for a member of this list to pursue? Being an NFL quarterback will make you a highly marketable athlete, as there are 4 in this top 25…and 3 of those are in the top 10. Another prime occupation is to be an NBA superstar, there are 4 of those in the top 10.

But what about older sports stars. Who are the sports stars who are no longer playing, that still have the most marketability?

Most Marketable Athletes (retired from sports)
1. Michael Jordan
2. Cal Ripken Jr.
3. Charles Barkley
4. Jack Nicklaus
5. Lance Armstrong
6. Muhammed Ali
7. Dan Marino
8. Wayne Gretzky
9. Arnold Palmer
10. Andre Agassi
11. Magic Johnson
12. Tiki Barber
13. Joe Montana
14. George Foreman
15. Emmitt Smith
15. John Elway
17. Tony Hawk
17. Terry Bradshaw
19. Mike Ditka
20. Richard Petty
20. Troy Aikman
22. John McEnroe
22. Jerome Bettis
22. Laird Hamilton
25. Dale Earnhardt Sr. (deceased)
25. Mia Hamm (female)
25. Anna Kournikova (female)
25. Roger Clemens
29. Brett Favre
29. Scott Hamilton
29. Nolan Ryan
29. Chris Evert (female)
29. Howie Long
29. Mike Golic
35. Michelle Kwan (female)
35. Joe DiMaggio (deceased)
35. Hank Aaron
35. Doug Flutie
39. Hulk Hogan

There are a number of interesting things about this list of most marketable sports retirees. First, it’s interesting that Lance Armstrong, Brett Favre, Tony Hawk and Michelle Kwan made both lists (active & retired). I guess some people are confused about their current status. Also, this list again shows the huge disparity between male and female athletes on this subject. Only 4 women cracked the top 40, and they were all outside the top 20 spots.

What did not surprise me was to see Michael Jordan at the top of the list. In-fact MJ garnered a whopping 86% of the votes. So eventhough he’s been off the court for a few years, his name & brand are still one of the best in the World. And he’s perhaps the only athlete that could give Tiger a run for his money, in terms of marketability.

Other athletes that I was not surprised to see in the top 10 were Nicklaus, Armstrong, Ali and Palmer. These guys were all global icons, known throughout the World, when they were on top of their sports. And that status has continued with them into retirement. And some people would even view Muhammed Ali as more of a pop culture icon, than just a sports icon. Because during the 60’s and 70’s, when he was in his prime, his non-boxing exploits drew as much attention as what he accomplished in the ring.

One thing that did slightly surprise me from this retired list, was Cal Ripken being ranked second. Not because he wasn’t a great athlete, but more becuase he wasn’t quite as “trescendent” as some of the other athletes listed. But Cal was a symbol of hard work and he’s always had a squeeky clean reputation. So I can see why he is still a very attractive athlete for marketers to work with.

There were also a couple of dead guys on the list. I’m shocked that ‘Joltin’ Joe Dimaggio made the list, he’s been dead for almost ten years. And he hasn’t played a professional sport in over 50 years. That’s amazing longevity on his part. Dale Earnhardt Sr was the other dead guy on the list. And truthfully I’m surprised he wasn’t higher than 25th (tied). Nascar still sells a ton of his merchandise, and he still looms large over stock car racing.

The last category they surveyed on, was which sports stars will be the most marketable 5 years from now.

Most Marketable Athletes (in the future)
1. Tiger Woods
2. LeBron James
3. Dwayne Wade
4. Reggie Bush
5. Peyton Manning
6. Sidney Crosby
7. David Beckham
7. Matt Leinart
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr
9. Vince Young
Other notables:
11. Michelle Wie (female)
19. Kevin Durant (still in college)
23. Juan Pablo Montoya (recently came to US)
23. Daisuke Matsuzaka (recently came to US)
29. Swin Cash (1st WNBA star on any list)
32. Greg Oden (also still in college)
40. Heather Mitts (only other female soccer star after Mia Hamm)

Lots of interesting names on that list to look for in the coming years. The top 10 spots are not too different than today, but it’s obvious there are a lot of bright stars just waiting for their turn.

Click here to see who are the richest athletes in the World.

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