Building and commercializing the athlete’s brand and NIL

Key topic

Professional athletes have a relatively short career playing sport, living most of their life from earnings made off the field, which is why it is important that they are proactive when it comes to their financial planning. One of the many pillars of good financial planning is building the athlete’s personal brand in order to maximize their earning potential off the field, both during and after their sports career.  An athlete’s sports career may end, but a strong brand will continue to exist, assisting in building wealth beyond the athlete’s sports years.

Learning objectives

• It is important for athletes to have an accurate picture of where they are in terms of their personal branding so that they can plan their future branding activities accordingly.
• A sports celebrity brand can be built with an appropriate branding plan.
• Strengthening the athlete’s brand equity is important since it forms the basis of an athlete’s commercial value from a consumer’s point of view.
• Athletes can adapt their branding strategy to take full advantage of their different life/work phases.
• The athlete’s brand can be commercialized in a number of ways to bring substantial amounts of revenue to the athlete.
• A proper brand management strategy ensures that the athlete becomes and stays marketable.
• Legally protecting the athlete’s sports brand ensures that potential revenues from the commercialization of such brand are enjoyed by the athlete as their lawful owner.

Introduction

The athlete’s brand, its development and the commercial use of the athlete’s NIL are an integral part of the athlete’s career.  As a result, it is very important to build and capitalize on your brand and create proper personal marketing strategies with well-defined branding activities which are in line with your financial and life plan.

Athletes need to understand that strong brands allow one to reach beyond their sport, to a broader, more diverse crowd. Brands go beyond the sport, they’re about who you are and how you will eventually be remembered as, ten or twenty years from now. It’s therefore vital for athletes that they don’t lose sight of their branding strategy and constantly work on promoting their brand, building their fanbase, and try to achieve higher engagement with their fans through virtual platforms.

The most important pillar in an athlete’s revised strategy, is higher engagement through virtual platforms. Creating videos on YouTube, live Q&As as well as podcasts are just a few examples of how athletes can become more active in the virtual world that we currently live in. After all, nearly everyone can access these platforms, giving the athlete an immense opportunity to expand their fanbase to anyone with access to these platforms. Having said that, it’s important for athletes to keep their loyal and core fanbase engaged, by creating more sports-focused content and providing insights into their future career plans and goals.

The athlete’s brand and its components

The athlete’s brand has three identifiable main components which are vital in the potential influence of the sports brand to its audience and fan base.  These components are:

1. Athletic performance
2. Attractive appearance
3. Marketable lifestyle

Each of the above components consists of several sub-components which must be thoroughly analyzed, interpreted and utilized accordingly when creating the athlete’s brand strategy.

The overall appeal of the athlete’s image can be evaluated by analyzing the components of their image from a consumer’s point of view; this is quite a useful evaluation tool for brands looking to recruit the best celebrity athlete as their brand ambassador.  Analyzing an athlete’s image components helps brands determine the massiveness and extent of the appeal athletes have with their fans, and the potential ability to influence their fans’ purchasing habits.  In addition, by analyzing their image components and sub-components, athletes can create suitable strategies for the commercial usage of their sports status.

The main components of an athlete’s image and their sub-components are discussed below in detail.

Athletic performance reflects an athlete’s sport performance related features.  Usually, but not always, an excellent athletic performance is a prerequisite in building the athlete’s personal sports brand.  The first touch point of athletes with fans is usually through their on-the-field performance; an excellent performance always catches the eye of spectators and sports fans and triggers the curiosity to learn more about a high performing athlete.  Athletic performance has several sub-components which can be utilized when building the personal sports brand and they are:

• Athletic expertise – An athlete’s individual athletic capability and achievement.
• Competition style – An athlete’s sports playing style. Nadal has an aggressive, baseline/ behind-the-baseline playing style based on groundstrokes, speedy footwork and court coverage.
• Sportsmanship – How the athlete approaches the game, i.e. with respect for the game, abides by fair play rules, etc. Roger Federer is considered to have a gentlemanly attitude both inside and outside the tennis court and his sportsmanship is recognized to be of the highest standard.
• Rivalry – The athlete’s competitive relationship with other athletes. MMA fighters excel in this regard.

Attractive appearance refers to an athlete’s attractive external characteristics and has the following components:

• Physical attractiveness – The physical qualities and characteristics of the athlete that fans and spectators find attractive.
• Being a symbol – An athlete’s appealing and engaging personal style which transforms them into a symbol.
• Body fitness – An athlete’s body fitness in their sport.

Marketable lifestyle is all about the athlete’s off-field marketable features such as:

• The athlete’s life story– An appealing, interesting off-field life story that includes a message and reflects the athlete’s personal values. The case of Colin Kaepernick, the American football quarterback, is a perfect example of an athlete whose personal beliefs brought him into the spotlight when he participated in the Nike campaign with the message “Believe in Something”.
• Whether the athlete is a role model and has an ethical behavior. Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all times, is a role model for youngsters with learning disorders because he has channeled the negative effects of his ADHD condition to swimming and managed to turn a negative situation into a success story.
• The athlete’s relationship effort – An athlete’s positive attitude when interacting with fans, sponsors and media. Athletes who invite their fan base into their lives through the use of social media, have a much higher visibility than those who don’t.

Capitalizing on an athlete’s brand components can be beneficial for both the athlete and the sponsoring brands.  Each athlete is unique, with different qualities and characteristics, each of which can be successfully utilized in developing the athlete’s personal marketing plan.

Real-Life Example (5-minute discussion) There are numerous athletes who have managed to fully capitalize their potentials, good looks and what-not from David Beckham to Roger Federer. There are also those who did not choose the conventional way and one of them is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Ronda Rousey. Ronda became an Olympic bronze medalist before deciding that her future lies in the world of mixed martial arts and joined Strikeforce. When the company was acquired by UFC, Rousey competed in the first women’s fight of UFC. Rousey and MMA are nowadays practically synonymous as she became the only woman to have successfully defended her title 6 times. In 2018, she was inducted into the UFC hall of fame. Unlike most athletes who slip into anonymity after retiring, Rousey joined the WWE and became the Women’s champion. She has also starred in several films since 2015 such as Furious 7, Mile 22, the Expendables 3 and Entourage, including her own documentary in 2019. Ronda destroys prejudices and crushes stereotypes. She is not the smiling face of your TV or the cute girl next door. She is referred to as “the baddest woman on the planet” What does Rousey’s case teach us?

Evaluating the athletic brand and its strength

While some athletes are simply popular because of their work on the field, there are some who have gone the extra mile to create a personal brand off the field that can always be utilized for profit and influence. Some have even managed to grow popular regardless of their performance on the pitch.

The term “brand” has been used through the years with different meanings attached to it. From initially being used by cattle ranchers to describe the process of using branding irons to mark their animals with their “brand”, to using “brand” as the name given to a product or service from a specific source. Today, we also use the term “personal brand” as we consider every person to have their own set of unique characteristics. Everything you say and do reflects your own independent brand. Athletes have a personal brand, which is more recognizable than that of an average person because of the fame and attention that usually comes from competing in professional sports.

The personal sports brand is an intangible asset with commercial value.  The commercial value lies within the sports-person, it is the sports-person’s own personal goodwill.  Personal goodwill in identity, is the force that attracts one to a famous individual and gives the individual commercial value because of their fame.  As an intangible asset, the personal sports brand manifests itself by its economic properties, by granting rights and privileges to its owner and by generating income for its owner.

An athlete’s brand is derived from who they are, who they want to be and who people perceive them to be.  There is a series of questions that you can ask yourself in order to assess whether your brand has commercial value at all.  The following questions will help you realize if you are anywhere near the first step of the stardom ladder; they may even make you realize that you are actually climbing the stardom ladder and roughly pinpoint to your stardom ladder positioning.

• Do I have an audience of sports fans in my social media accounts? How many in each type of social media?
• If I do have an audience of sports fans, am I in a position to influence their purchasing habits? Have I been approached by third parties to help promote their products or services to my fans?
• If I believe that I am in a position to influence the purchasing habits of my fans, how do I actually do that? How do I exert such an influence over my fans?  If I have ongoing promotion contracts with third parties for the promotion of their products or services to my fans, do I have any metrics that show the effect of my efforts on the actual sales of these products/services?

The answers to the above questions constitute a reality check of your “sports celebrity” status.  In any case, you will know approximately where you are, so that you can devise an appropriate strategy to create and monetize your brand.

Considering a brand’s importance to an athlete’s earning potential, the brand and the marketing strategy behind it should be frequently evaluated and possibly readapted. So how do you go about evaluating the strength of your athletic brand?

• Think about your competitive advantages. What makes you stand out from other professional athletes? Athletes can no longer rely solely on their talent to provide the all-important competitive edge; an athletic brand that stands out among the rest involves more of the athlete’s personality: their passions, interests and life outside of sports. Indeed, studies suggest that sports fans put more emphasis on character-focused stories about individual athletes, relating to their personal life and attributes, rather than on performance-focused stories. Authenticity is vital when it comes to building a strong brand; when the brand that you have built is a true reflection of who you are, your unique traits will define your brand and this is what will set you apart.
• Determine your audience. Do you know who your audience is and how to communicate with them? This is important so that your brand portrays the most marketable version of yourself. You have to know what your target audience likes, believes in, and holds in high esteem, where to find them and how to get them to buy-in to what is being sold. Equally, you have to think about businesses reaching out to professional athletes to promote their products or services and how they go about deciding who to recruit for this purpose: a strong athletic brand can convince the business that it is “that” particular athlete that they need to hire.
• Consider the public’s perception of you as a person and as an athlete; this is your brand’s core. The fans’ decision to invest in an athletic brand, whether it is to purchase memorabilia of a specific athlete, watch a game on TV or buy tickets to the game, rests on this perception. In turn, this perception is based on an athlete’s sport performance, as well as character in real life. Take Roger Federer, for example, who has, time and again said: “It is nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice”, a phrase which perfectly sums up his public image. This ethos is key to his reputation as one of the most admired athletes in the world. The 20-time grand slam champion has received, for 2017-2018, a net income of $77.2 million with $65 million being from endorsements and appearance fees. Notably, his off-court earnings from utilizing his personal brand are higher than those of a large number of athlete’s.
• Assess your income. What are your current commercial earnings, if any? A good indicator of your brand’s strength is its financial value, that is, how much income you can yield from the commercial usage of your brand. It is also worth considering the effect that your brand has on consumers’ buying decisions. Naomi Osaka surpassed every male and female tennis athlete in terms of earnings in both 2020 and 2021 with the exception of Roger Federer. In 2021, Osaka earned $167 million dollars.

Bottom line is that a strong brand is the foundation of whatever you undertake in your post sports career, essentially bringing with it opportunities; for this reason, it is imperative that you actively take care of it, evaluate it regularly and it will stand out on its own.

Action Steps – Exercise 1 (20 minutes):

Have athletes answer the following questions in writing to assess whether they have a brand with commercial value; give them about 10 minutes to complete the assignment and then have them read out their answers.  Continue with an open discussion.

• Do I have an audience of sports fans in my social media accounts? How many in each type of social media?
• If I do have an audience of sports fans, am I in a position to influence their purchasing habits? Have I been approached by third parties to help promote their products or services to my fans?
• If I believe that I am in a position to influence the purchasing habits of my fans, how do I actually do that? How do I exert such an influence over my fans?  If I have ongoing promotion contracts with third parties for the promotion of their products or services to my fans, do I have any metrics that show the effect of my efforts on the actual sales of these products/services

Building the athlete’s brand name, image and likeness

A personal sports brand can be built in such a way that it transforms an athlete into a local, national, or global signature brand, which can be leveraged to sell, endorsed and make a profit.  Athletes can build and capitalize on their brand by creating proper personal marketing strategies, with well-defined branding activities which are in line with their life plan. Strategic building of the athlete’s personal brand is important because it must be clear which values they bring to the marketplace in order to stand out from the rest of the crowd.

As mentioned above there are three components of an athlete’s brand image:

• Athletic performance
• Attractive appearance
• Marketable lifestyle

The above components influence consumer brand equity formation and as already discussed, each of these components consists of several sub-components which must be thoroughly analyzed before proceeding to create your sports brand strategy.

An athlete’s brand strategy is how, what, where, when and to whom they plan on communicating and delivering their brand message.  How the athlete communicates visually and verbally is part of their brand strategy. A successful branding strategy encompasses all of the following elements:

• Identify your Audience/Followers – Athletes need to have an idea of who their fans are and they need to identify what their audience wants from them as athletes and as brands.
• Create a Niche – Athletes can do that by defining who they are and what their mission is, in addition to sports or through sports, both on and off the field. They should choose their target market, audience and fans, identify what their audience wants/needs from them and figure out how they can fulfill their audience’s needs.  The target market is the group of individuals who you are seeking to sell something, influence, direct, and so on. There are two broad ways of approaching this. You either create a brand based on what kind of people you want to attract, or you create a brand and then try to attract people to you. In the first case you meet demand and expectations, in the second you try to create demand for yourself.
• Create a story behind the Brand – What is the athletes’ appearance/style and what is their behavior on and off court? How do athletes participate in the community and what communication style and methods do they use? Where do they come from, what were their struggles so far and how did they overcome these struggles? These are all elements of the athletes’ personal story. Some athletes have really powerful and inspiring stories. Your backstory may also help define not only your brand but also the type of products you are trying to promote, or for that matter, create. People always love stories about overcoming challenges, making it as the underdog, recovering from falls and losses, etc.
• Create a clear Communications Strategy both online and offline as follows:
  • Online strategy: Athletes should design, build, promote, monitor and optimize their online platform which consists of:
    • A Website
    • Social Media Platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, Youtube channel, etc.)
    • Web Broadcasting
    • Organizing and commercially engaging their fan base, especially their social media fans
    • Sharing special moments with their fan base through the use of social media events and inviting their fans into their lives
  • Offline strategy: Athletes should promote themselves offline through:
    • Appearing in charity or other events, using philanthropy or common good causes. In person interaction will create a much stronger, personal connection with fans.
    • Personal Social Responsibility – Giving back to the community and associating themselves with a cause is vital to the athlete’s maturity and personal growth.

There is no doubt that you can choose to cultivate your brand towards whatever direction you feel suits you the most and will benefit you the most.

Real-Life Example (5-minute discussion) A perfect example of an athlete who realized her brand potential from a young age is Venus Williams. She was the first African American to become number 1 back in 2002 and along with her sister Serena, redefined and elevated female tennis. Williams has managed to thrive financially on and off the pitch and probably makes more money off the court than when competing, especially nowadays. At the age of 15, Venus signed a five-year contract worth $12 million with Reebok. Once that deal expired in 2000, she signed a new contract with the company for a $40 million, making it one of the most lucrative endorsement deals ever for a female athlete. In addition, Venus has also had endorsement deals with Ralph Lauren, Kraft, Wilson’s Leather, and Electronic Arts among others. But Venus’ financial pursuits went far beyond endorsements and sponsorships which are ultimately related and dependent upon tennis. In 2009, Venus and her sister became shareholders of the Miami Dolphins, another first for African-American women which is today one of the most valuable teams in the world. In 2011, she also teamed up with Jamba Juice. On top of all of that, Williams has her own interior business called “V Starr Interiors”, in addition to her clothing line “Eleven by Venus” which she wears on the pitch. She has 2.5 million followers on Facebook 1.7 million followers on Twitter. It is estimated that 90% of Americans would recognize her. Venus Williams has a degree in fashion design, she is a certified interior decorator and has also received a degree in Business administration. What do you think about Venus’ success?

Creating the athlete’s personal marketing plan

Creating, establishing and maintaining an athlete’s brand is not as simple as it may sound. Of course, marketing experts will always be there to assist you with building your brand, but, unfortunately, creating a strong brand requires more than just ‘throwing money’ at the experts. As a result, we strongly recommend to every athlete to take some time, together with an advisor to build their marketing plan, or at least understand the basic parameters of the plan that was built for them by the ‘experts’. Before jumping on what the parameters of this plan should be, it’s important to acknowledge that having such a plan is highly important. Believe it or not, in the world of marketing everything is classified as a ‘product’, not in the literal sense but rather in the sense of being able to take something, and through the right promotion strategy, make it more valuable.

Why do we need a marketing plan?

As an athlete, of course, your first and most important worry should be to always give your best in the field, whatever sport it is you’re participating in. If you’re doing that, you will most likely attract some attention and you need to be ready to handle that attention. Having a marketing plan can help an athlete position and distinguish themselves from ‘the masses’ and take advantage of the attention that you attract while you show improvement on the field. Truth is, if you’re a bad player, a marketing plan won’t do much but on the contrary, if you’re a player who’s putting in the effort and gives their best, a marketing plan will amplify your success and push you the extra mile that you need to reach your career goals.

To put things into perspective, let’s return to former UFC superstar Ronda Rousey and her nickname ‘The Baddest Woman on the Planet’. Rousey was dubbed ‘The Baddest Woman on the Planet’ during her peak years in the UFC by the media.  It was obvious that the nickname differentiated her from other athletes and gave her a unique aura, usually reserved for male athletes. When she left UFC and joined the WWE, the marketing team of the sports entertainment company made full use of her iconic nickname. In this case, the point is that Ronda Rousey through the right marketing plan, was able to take advantage of a nickname that was given to her by others and positioned herself as the most famous female fighter of all time.

Moving on, having the right marketing plan can help you build your brand both inside and outside the field; a brand that not only emphasizes your performance in the field, but also promotes your individuality, your personal life and how these two make a great athlete and a figure that people wish to follow. Building such a brand makes an athlete more likeable to the public and consequently elevates their ‘influence’ over society. Now, why is this so valuable? Simply put, ‘endorsements’.  Large companies are willing to throw enormous amounts of money on athletes with strong brands just to be endorsed by them. To put things into perspective, in 2018, the top one hundred athletes received about US$ 900 million in endorsements, showing that the endorsement market is huge and that large companies are serious when it comes to their marketing strategies. If you want even a small cut of the endorsement market, you really need to consider your marketing plan and how this plan will position you as an influencer amongst the public.

When do we develop our plan, what goals do we want to achieve through our plan?

As mentioned earlier, to have a plan, you need to have a ‘product’ and in this case, our ‘product’ is an athlete who performs well, constantly improves and has attracted some sort of attention by the media and the public. Unfortunately, athletes are not like any other product because they cannot be branded out of thin air. There must be substance in every athlete and that substance is first created by the athlete’s performance in the field. Therefore, to even consider developing a marketing plan, you need to be confident about your ability to perform well in the field, whatever sport it is you’re doing. Furthermore, it’s important to start thinking about your marketing plan at the early stages of your career so that you can implement parts of it as you improve and progress. The key timing which your marketing plan kicks in is the point where you start attracting more media attention. During that time, you’re given an ‘assist’ by the media and it’s up to you to utilize it correctly and position yourself to what you want to become.

Any marketing plan has to be at least assessed by marketing experts. As an athlete, you’re not in a position to draw the entire plan by yourself, but you are required to have an idea of what you want that plan to be and what its goals are. Therefore, your job as an athlete is not as much to create the plan but rather to assess your current situation and list the goals that you wish to achieve through a marketing plan. Sit down with a marketing advisor and lay out what you wish to achieve and what kind of brand you wish to build, and they will try to give you the means to achieve your goals.

Adapting the athlete’s marketing strategy according to the different life/work phases

The brand value of an athlete can be built to last a lifetime. When forming an athlete’s marketing strategy, the different life/work phases of the athlete should be taken into account. If the marketing plan is adjusted to, and caters for, the athlete’s evolving life/work phases, it makes it easier to commercialize the athlete’s brand and add new revenue streams.

Like every other person who enjoys fame, each phase of an athlete’s life and career has different characteristics that appeal to different types of audiences with varying purchasing habits.

• Young athletes up to 22 – 23 appeal to younger people, and they are seen as free, young, single, fearless, with a drive to succeed, hungry for life, wanting to make their dream happen.
• Athletes in their middle 20s to early 30s are perceived as young, successful, dynamic, benevolent, wanting to make a difference in the world. They could be possibly married.
• Then we have athletes in their middle to late 30s. They are seen as more settled and mature, successful both professionally and family wise, perhaps they have children. They are role models, their benevolence starts turning into action by supporting foundations, causes, etc. They become life coaches for younger athletes and usually they are getting ready to retire from field play.
• During their 40s athletes have normally transitioned from field play to other businesses. They are considered versatile, adaptable, having a growing family, they could be new entrepreneurs. Giving back to society becomes a priority for them.
• In their 50s the retired athletes have already built businesses, they are business networkers, care about youngsters in sport, pursue philanthropy and they are health and fitness conscious.
• And finally, in their 60s + they are considered to be acknowledged businesspeople, mature family persons, more laid back, they enjoy the pleasures of life and they have more time to pursue hobbies. They are established philanthropists, respected and admired by most.

It is very important for athletes to know at which phase they are positioned at all times, which will signify the type of audience they appeal to so that they can align themselves with their audience’s expectations and interests.  Obviously, athletes have a different appeal and a different audience at each stage of their life and a carefully crafted marketing strategy can actually keep athletes in the spotlight and marketable during all of their life/work phases.

Action Steps – Exercise 2 (10 minutes): 

For each life/work phase listed above, the athletes should define two types of products and/or services they could possibly promote to their fan base, and justify their selection on the basis of the characteristics of the particular life/work phase.

Social media strategies for promoting the athlete’s brand

A large part of the athlete’s personal marketing strategy can be implemented successfully through the use of social media.

Social media are communication and socializing tools that we use in our everyday lives. As per the latest statistics from Datareportal, the number of social media users worldwide in 2021 was 4,33 billion, with an increase of 13,7 percent from the previous year. Companies and individuals use social media to promote their brand, products and services. Athletes currently use social media quite heavily in order to market themselves and communicate with their fans, sponsors and potential sponsors.

Through social media, athletes are able to build their personal brand, become known and develop brand equity. Social media is not only a way to promote one’s self, but also a means to promote a sponsor’s products and services. Therefore, by having a strong social media presence, athletes create lucrative financial opportunities through sponsorships and endorsements.

Social media, is a powerful tool in a sports persona’s overall personal branding and marketing strategy and below we present some useful social media strategies which will guide athletes in building and promoting their personal brand successfully through social media.

Define the goals which you wish to achieve through social media. Through social media you will be able to develop a specific public image and tell your personal story, increase your fanbase and ultimately get sponsorships and endorsements.  By defining your goals, you are able to design your strategy towards achieving them.

Determine which is your audience. You have to decide which is the demographic of the audience you wish to reach. In order to do that, you have to know to which target group you are most appealing to and will most likely connect with you and become followers in the various social media outlets where you have presence.

Choose the right social media outlets. Depending on the target audience you want to reach, you have to choose the most suitable social media outlets through which you will do that. For example, if your target audience consists of teenagers, then Instagram is a more appropriate social media platform than Twitter or LinkedIn.

Decide on the content of your posts. You want to develop a certain public image and you want to express your beliefs and opinions through social media. Choose carefully the type of content that you will be sharing with your fans in order to achieve that.

Post original content. Your own text, pictures and videos are more likely to gain attention than sharing someone else’s content.

Keep your privacy, but always have in mind that fans want to feel like they are part of their athlete idol’s personal life, so it is important to have content from you daily life. Such content must be carefully chosen so that it does not disrupt your or your loved ones’ private moments. You may also make fans feel like they are part of the game by providing them with a sneak peek of behind-the-scenes material of your athletic world.

Be careful with the content of your posts. Have in mind that once posted it cannot be undone! Everything posted online is there forever, even after it’s been deleted. Therefore, always be careful when expressing opinions, especially if they are politically related, controversial or relevant to a matter that is considered of public interest.

Engage with your followers. Engaging with your audience through questions, discussions, comments, replies etc. can help you build a strong relationship with them, ensuring the loyalty of your followers towards your personal brand.

Tag others on your posts. Engage your team, teammates, sponsors, national organizations, etc, by tagging them in your posts, thus broadening your reach through being visible to the tagged person’s/organization’s fan base as well.

Be consistent and post regularly. You want to build a relationship with your followers and being consistent in your posts will increase fan loyalty. It is important to understand that social media platforms use algorithms which decrease your posts views on people’s timelines if your posting frequency decreases. The more social you are, the more air time you get. In order to achieve that, the best thing to do is to create a content calendar through which you will define what and when you will post and stick to it.

Social media is one of the best platforms to build and promote your personal athletic brand nowadays; it is free, it is vast and it has tremendous potential in connecting you with a global audience.

Action Steps – Exercise 3 (15 minutes):

Ask athletes to go through the first 3 steps described in this section which will help them put down the basic blocks of creating their social media strategy as follows:

• Define the goals which you wish to achieve through social media
• Determine which is your audience
• Choose the right social media outlets

Have a few athletes read their replies and continue with an open discussion.

Can athletes stay off the grid in the age of social media?

There used to be a time when athletes were afraid of paparazzi exposing their private lives, but nowadays they seem all the more willing to do that themselves through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms. There is, of course, a rational explanation for this—in most cases a financial incentive. Nonetheless, it seems virtually impossible in the 21st century to live without any social media presence. Like the rest of us, however, athletes are not immune to all the traps that come with going online.

The impact of social media has been under intense scrutiny for the past few years and for a good reason. Social media is full of anger and hate. Unhappiness, anxiety, depression, insomnia, low self-esteem and countless other negative emotions and conditions have a positive correlation with social media use. On the other hand, social media help people staying in touch with loved ones and offer the opportunity for instant communication. As far as athletes are concerned, both the pros and cons of social media are amplified since they are by nature of their profession in the public gaze. Put simply, athletes can become famous and enhance their brand through social media while at the same time, the wrong tweet can send their careers down the gutter. Some notorious examples: Rashard Mendenhall’s tweet on 9/11, Tyler Seguin’s homophobic comments, or perhaps college footballer Kris Boyd’s surreal halftime tweet expressing his intention to leave for another college team.

Nonetheless, social media are much more than socializing platforms for athletes; they are arguably part of their job description. In other words, social media is the means for cultivating and ultimately “controlling” your public image. Athletes can use social media for brand-building, telling their story, expanding their fanbase, keeping in touch with their fans, which in turn can help them connect with traditional media, raise awareness for something they care about—be that a social justice project or anything else— and of course make more money as their public image and popularity determine to a great extent, sponsorships and/or endorsements. The benefits of social media are thus double-fold. Not only is it a platform through which athletes can promote products and services, but if they manage to run their accounts efficiently, then the value of their brand will also increase and they will reap the benefits in the real world.

At the same time, there are disconcerting reports coming out of locker rooms; of coaches being forced to give “social media breaks”, of increasing anxiety and unhappiness among professional athletes, and many more. Moreover, the magnitude of the effects is still largely unknown to us, with psychologists and sociologists warning that the impact on millennials will be much more profound than on Generation Z. Social media do not discriminate between the haves and the have-nots or the famous and the non-famous; they can alter your identity and injure your sense of self-worth notwithstanding who you are.

If the athlete decides—like many celebrities—to abstain from the online community, then they will avoid all the negative feelings and emotions that are part and parcel of social media. They will effectively, however, let go of the benefits as well. Such as the opportunity to increase their online presence and revenues, establish a loyal fanbase, build brand awareness and so on. Furthermore, a successful brand can go a long way in creating opportunities beyond the world of sports, and also after the athletes’ retirement from sport.

The decision to be on social media and how to use it, remains with the athlete. There is a series of variables that an athlete should take into account when deciding if and to what extent they are going to be active on social media; for example, how to deal with the dangers, how to prevent addiction, how to deal with the inevitable negative comments and generally how to maintain a distance between them and the online community and ultimately manage to define their relationship to social media as a strictly professional one.

Industries that invest in sports advertising

Sports provide a worldwide platform for brands to engage with a huge fan base. Advertising in sports has been increasing exponentially through the years, taking many forms, with the most traditional being ground or team sponsorship. Athletes have also been historically helping brands build an emotional connection with consumers by acting as brand ambassadors.

With millions of users accessing digital sports content every day, athletes using online platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or Tik Tok can interact with them, establishing themselves as “influencers”. Brands on the other hand can create marketing strategies that take advantage of this new relationship between their brand ambassadors and their followers, by creating digital content suited to the various social platforms they use.

When creating their personal marketing strategy, athletes should be aware of the prevailing sports advertising trends as well as the top industries that invest in the sponsorship of athletes.  Knowing where the money is, can be quite beneficial for athletes so that they gear their efforts towards that direction. There are a number of industries that invest big in brand ambassadors from the sports sector and we will briefly look into them below.

Sports provide a huge opportunity for the Beverage industry to launch marketing campaigns, as fans traditionally connect watching their favorite sport with enjoying their favorite drink. The two giants, Pepsi and Coca Cola, have been employing some of the biggest names in sports to promote their products.  Pepsi sponsors NASCAR and the US Tennis Association among other, while Laurie Hernandez, Amy Purdy, Jordan Spieth and Joey Logano, among others, endorse Coke. Energy drinks are also investing big with Red Bull employing the likes of Victoria Azarenka and Sebastian Vettel to promote their products, while Monster energy drink is being endorsed by Luis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi.

The link between the Auto industry and sports has always been strong. Sponsorships are one of the most common ways in which brands pursue marketing opportunities that create deep levels of engagement between their brand and consumers. Nissan is one of the companies which have a great number of athlete brand ambassadors. Usain Bolt, Sam Bradford and Naomi Osaka are just a few of the athletes who endorse the Japanese auto giant. German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes on the other hand is being endorsed by tennis legend Roger Federer, tennis player Li NA and F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton. Tennis phenomenon Maria Sharapova endorses Porsche.

The world’s big Sportswear brands have been using athletes as the center of their marketing campaigns for decades and many times two great rivals on the court or field are wearing clothing from rival clothing companies. Sportswear (and not only) brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Lacoste and so on, sponsor thousands of athletes and sports clubs around the world. Sportwear brands and the sport industry are almost one and the same. Puma has been endorsing Usain Bolt while trying to concentrate on the Track and Field Market, and Reebok has been trying to break into the UFC market by endorsing UFC champion Connor McGregor.

The Luxury Watchmakers have been leveraging the positive associations consumers have with famous athletes to build brand awareness and drive sales for years. Rolex has been sponsoring many top athletes such as Tennis players Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki, F1 drivers Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber and golfer Phil Mickelson. Tag Heuer has signed Alexander Rossi from F1 brand ambassador. Japanese watch manufacturer Seiko has been endorsing Novak Djokovic and NASCAR driver Jimmy Johnson to promote their watches.

Finally, Banks and Financial Institutions have been also key players in the athlete endorsement market. In the US, BBVA Compass is not only sponsoring three NBA teams, the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs but has also been endorsing NBA superstars Kevin Durant and James Harden. Opus Bank employed Golden State Warrior’s Klay Thomson as brand ambassador while Steph Curry had a lucrative endorsement deal with JP Morgan Chase. On the other side of the planet, Qatar National Bank has utilized Soccer superstar Neymar as their global ambassador.

The list of companies seeking brand exposure through sports star ambassadors goes on and on, and more industries are following suit by utilizing sports stars to promote their brands.  This presents a lucrative opportunity for athletes, in terms of creating additional revenue streams and gaining large-scale visibility.

Sports professionals serving as charity ambassadors

The sports industry is no longer solely associated with exercising the human body; billions of people all around the world are inspired by sport and that inspiration can be used to promote a good cause.  Sports professionals have the platform and opportunity to be able to inspire, motivate, and use their celebrity status to make a difference in causes and issues that are important to them.

Donating to charity is definitely a good start. However, a sports professional can really have an impact by being genuinely and actively associated with a cause; the benefit of being aligned with a cause is far more important than any pay check that an athlete may donate.  On their part, charities want to be associated with sports professionals because of their broad reach and popularity; indeed, sports fans are more inclined to give to causes linked to their favorite players or teams.

Being a charity ambassador means being at the forefront of a particular charity campaign, and giving your time, energy and support to promote the cause and encourage others to get involved too.  Take Serena Williams for example. She is an iconic tennis player and equally strong with her charity work. Williams has received many awards for her off-the-pitch charity work including the Celebrity Role Model Award and the Young Heroes Award. Williams’ charity focuses on those affected by violence and ensuring access to education. Williams became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2011.

All philanthropy is personal.  If you are committed to making a real change in the world, you will want to start by clarifying your aspirations and you should spend some time distilling your values and beliefs and creating your legacy.  A real legacy is built on what you are giving to the world; it focuses on how you make the world a better place.

So how should a sports professional go about becoming a successful charity ambassador?

• You have to first decide on your legacy: Who do you want to impact and what can you do that will have a positive impact now and after you are gone?
• Find a cause that aligns with your intended legacy and that you are passionate about: when you really respect and care about the cause, you are more likely to send across a powerful message.
• Do your research: make sure that the charity you plan to associate yourself with, is truly dedicated and your combined efforts can genuinely make a difference.
• Know your role: agree how you can best use your knowledge, influence, contacts and skills to help. It is important that you fully understand what you are promoting and how you should go about it.
• Stay in touch: a good ambassador should be in regular contact with the charity they represent. Check in on the work that has been done so far and discuss the next steps.
• Embody the cause: you need to consistently engage with your fans both online and offline, in a meaningful way to raise awareness.
• Use your influence to lobby behind the scenes: approach your connections that may be able to help. You can even motivate other fellow athletes or your league to be involved, reaching out to a wider audience.

Undoubtedly, it takes a lot of dedication to successfully undertake the role of a charity ambassador, but the benefits it brings with it are definitely worth it.  Associating yourself with a cause does not simply benefit your personal brand; it adds purpose to it so that you stand for something more than just yourself.  Fans want more than a superficial connection with sports professionals; they look for an emotional connection, shaped by sharing similar beliefs or ideas, to a positive role model.  Being a charity ambassador is not just about personal success, it’s about making your mark.

Action Steps – Exercise 4 (10 minutes)

Ask athletes to take a few minutes to think about a cause that they really care about, which they would like to represent as the particular cause’s ambassadors.  They should be able to explain why they chose the particular cause and how they think they can make a difference as ambassadors for this cause.  Have an open discussion in class based on the athletes’ answers.

The commercial use of the athlete’s brand

Personal sports brands are tradable commodities.  When athletes build their personal sports brand, they can utilize it strategically and turn it into a long-term brand that may withstand the test of time. Below, we list a few ways through which personal sports brands can be monetized:

Endorsements by sports stars are considered quite valuable for brands and they are sought at various stages during the life cycle of a product. The promotion of the endorsement through the social media accounts of the endorsing athlete provides a direct way for celebrities to publicly endorse products and share their enthusiasm with their fans, and it is considered a core part of an endorsement strategy nowadays.

Endorsement contracts usually have a definite time frame, anywhere from one to five years with an option for renewal, within the time frame that the sports celebrity is active in their sport, and they may include one particular product or a range of specific products. The compensation can take many forms, from a fixed fee, to a percentage of the sales of the endorsed products. Third party endorsers may provide bonuses for athletic achievement within the endorsement period.

Sponsorships are offered by sponsoring brands who support a sports celebrity and hope that their appeal to the public will have a positive effect on the brand’s product sales. Sponsorships create a more involved contractual commitment for the celebrity athlete because of their long-term nature and because the sponsor requires certain actions from the athlete in return for the sponsorship fee paid to them. Sponsorships can create a good-size income stream for the athlete as a lot of companies from various industries are moving towards this direction to raise brand awareness and recognition. Celebrity athletes are usually sponsored from various companies in different industries, simultaneously.

While endorsement is about the product, with the athlete utilized as a marketing tool, merchandising is more about the athlete behind the image and the sale of a range of products under that athlete’s name and image.

Merchandising often involves various parties while the athlete is at the core of the product’s marketing campaign; athletes are not usually responsible for the design or production of the goods. The athlete may or may not have overall strategic control depending on the agreement they have entered into. In a lot of cases, a company with experience in the field of, for example perfumes, can seek permission to use the celebrity’s name for a particular perfume thus making this a licensing deal.

Other uses

Appearance engagements are quite common for athletes who are paid to appear at sporting, social, or charity events.  Appearance fees are the payments made to the athletes for showing up at such events.  Also, an app or an electronic game may seek to feature a celebrity athlete’s likeness and the athlete can be compensated either through a flat fee or a licensing agreement based on the sales of the computer game.  Athletes can also receive royalties for films, documentaries, books, etc.

Real-Life Example (5-minute discussion) Even if you have never seen a UFC fight, you most probably heard of Conor McGregor. The Notorious one is amongst the most controversial and outspoken people in professional sports. Love him or hate him, you cannot ignore him; which seems to be his social media strategy. When he won his first championship in 2015, it was the same weekend that the Wimbledon Tennis finals were contested between Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams but it was McGregor who monopolized global search trends with over a million registrations—nearly twice as number 2 Federer. He is the King of Instagram of UFC fighters with over 20 million followers separating him from number 2. His controversial moments are endless ranging from allegations of racism to calling WWE wrestlers “sissies”. However, whatever McGregor is doing, it seems to be paying off. He feasts on people’s strong opinions about him and currently sits comfortably in the top 20 of wealthy athletes What does this example teach us?

Assessing the current value of the athlete’s brand

As already mentioned, the athlete’s brand is an asset with commercial value.  An athlete’s brand can grow exponentially in value as the athlete develops and enhances their image. The financial valuation of the sports brand is a relatively new development. Measuring the value of a sports celebrity’s image, provides both athletes (and sports clubs) with a framework for strategic management when it comes to licensing, business alliances, or joint ventures involving an athlete’s image rights. The personal sports brand valuation is substantially affected by the abilities and the expected performance of the athlete, and such valuation is carried out according to the expected future utilization of the athlete’s image rights.

The preferred method of calculating the value of the sports celebrity image is based on predicting future earnings derived from commercializing the image and calculating their net present value.  This methodology is widely accepted by global auditors and tax authorities in many countries and it is sufficiently reliable for use in financial reporting.

Managing the athlete’s brand:  Reputational and commercial management

For athletes to stay in the spotlight and continue to grow their brand, a proper brand management strategy has to be in place. The brand management strategy controls two different aspects of an athlete’s brand: the personal or reputation aspect and the commercial or business aspect. The personal aspect deals with the issue of reputational risk and how athletes should be careful of their actions to preserve their good reputation.  The business/commercial aspect deals with the commercial use of the brand and its monetization.

Reputational risk

An athlete’s sports brand, like all brands, is vulnerable to being dependent on such intangibles as people’s perceptions of them.  Closely linked to the commercial value of the celebrity image is the opinion of the community.  An athlete’s good name or reputation is the regard which the athlete enjoys within the community.  If the community does not approve the actions of an athlete, their reputation would take a downward plunge.  If the athlete’s image fits in well with communal convictions, then, their reputation would be positive, and this would have a direct, positive effect on their commercial value.  The athlete is greatly dependent on a positive reputation and it is the athlete who is the origin, the foundation of the reputation.  A number of athletes have been known not to live up to the public’s expectations thus tarnishing their brand, sometimes overnight, and jeopardizing their earning power.

As succinctly put by Warren Buffet: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it”. While building their brand is essential, managing their personal reputation is equally important for athletes.  Athletes have to be mindful of what their social media activity says about their personal brand as a whole; their behavior online reflects who they are and what they stand for, so they should use their social media with care because productive activity can turn into destructive behavior.  The athletes’ response to their audience is also important; creating a two-way street, is key to nurturing a community of fans. It is not about the athlete’s audience listening to what the athlete has to say, it is about having a two-way conversation, a communication with the fans.

Athletes need to create a crisis management strategy, and they should have a reputation management plan in place for managing events that might trigger a reputational crisis; this includes handling their public behavior through various media outlets and handling online criticism and public anger, or malicious comments.

Real-Life Examples (5-minute discussion) A great example of the effects of reputational risk is what happened with Tiger Woods who in a matter of a couple of weeks saw his popularity plunge and most of his endorsement contracts cancelled. The total commercial value of Tiger Wood’s image on November 27, 2009, the day before his famous accident which revealed his marital infidelity, had soared to a revenue generating capacity of US$ 120 million.  A couple of weeks after the accident and subsequent to the cancellation of a number of endorsement contracts, his commercial value plunged to US$80 million and continued to fall in 2010 to slightly less than US$60 million.  Tiger Woods is a case study for showing how volatile a sport celebrity’s image related revenues may be as a result of a reputation downfall. What do you make of Woods’ case?

Business/Commercial management

The commercial management of a sports image, deals with the continuous commercial use of the athlete’s brand through procurement of sponsorships, endorsements, ambassadorships, paid or pro-bono participation in various events, etc. When planning the business component of the athlete’s branding strategy, special emphasis should be given to the athlete’s communication with the public which ensures their spotlight positioning. The fickleness of the public is a major factor which should be taken into account since someone who is “in” today, may be “out” next week and it takes a lot of constant hard work to be and stay “in”.

Athletes have to be careful not to spread themselves thin by taking on too many endorsement deals.  When an athlete is overexposed by working with a large number of product/company endorsements, their credibility may suffer.  People may feel that the celebrity will endorse anything to make more money.

Of course, it goes without saying that the athlete should be particularly choosy in picking out their endorsement products and services and they should stay away from any products prohibited by their contract or controversial products such as drugs, alcohol, tobacco, etc.

The successful commercialization of an athlete’s brand plays an important role in developing and growing the athletes’ exposure, expanding their marketability, and directing them towards the most appropriate commercial opportunities.

Real-Life Example (5-minute discussion) A great example of the effects of reputational risk is what happened with Maria Sharapova. The Russian phenomenon has won five grand slams, was the highest paid female athlete for 11 years and was second in total earnings only to Serena Williams, until she was banned for illegal substance abuse that she claimed she had been using for fending of diabetes—due to her family history. A lot of sponsors abandoned Sharapova after the incidence who saw her earnings which peaked in 2015, fall significantly in 2016. Despite the ban, sponsors continued to be lured by the tennis ace. She struck a multi-year deal with UBS shortly after her suspension ended, and Porsche, Nike, Evian, and Head hanged around. What this tells us, is that reputational damage can be bad news as it was for Tiger Woods and to a certain extent for Sharapova. However, it depends on the extent of the damage suffered, on the strength and nature of the brand and how well the crisis has been managed. What does Sharapova’s case teach us?

Protecting the athlete’s brand

Image rights are the expression of a personality in the public domain.  The provision of image rights in law enables the definition, valuation, commercial exploitation and protection of image rights associated with a person.  The right of publicity, often called personality right, is the right of an individual to control the commercial use of their name, image, likeness (NIL), or other unequivocal aspects of one’s identity.  It is generally considered a property right as opposed to a personal right and as such, the validity of the right of publicity can survive the death of an individual.

Personality rights are generally considered to consist of two types of rights:

• The right of publicity, or to keep one’s image and likeness from being commercially exploited without the permission or contractual compensation of its owner, which is similar to a trademark.
• The right of privacy, or the right to be left alone and not have one’s personality represented publicly without permission.

In common law jurisdictions, publicity rights fall into the realm of the tort or passing off.  U.S. jurisprudence has substantially extended the right through the notion of natural rights and the idea that every individual should have a right to control how, if at all, their persona is commercialized by third parties with the intent of making a profit.

The Right of Publicity is to some extent recognized and protected in a few countries such as the United States, France or Germany, but there are many countries where there are no specific legal tools which define these rights or address the harm caused by the unlawful use of a person’s Image.

In order to protect their personal sports brand, it is important for athletes to identify their relevant trademarks and register them.  Such trademarks include a sports persona’s name as well as their likeness.  Once trademark rights are established in a name or likeness, the next step is to register these trademarks. In the United States these trademarks can be registered with the USPTO and such registration expands common law trademark rights to the entire United States.  In addition, domain names denoting in any way the particular athlete’s name or likeness should be secured early on in the athlete’s career so as to prohibit their unlawful use and possible harmful effects.

Protection of the athletes’ image rights from unlicensed use by others, adds to the commercial value of such image rights whereas lack of protection has the opposite effect.  Image rights are an asset of the sports personality with a potential commercial value.  Therefore, it is crucial today more than ever, that sports personalities protect their image from unlicensed use by others.  As the potential for sponsorships and endorsements grows, so do the opportunities for unauthorized use and profit by third parties.

Is top athletic performance a prerequisite for a strong athletic brand?

The common perception is that athletic performance is directly linked with the brand strength of the athlete and top athletic performance is considered to be a necessary component of the athletic brand equity. How true is this perception though? It depends on the context; the sport and its nature.

As previously mentioned, the sports celebrity image encompasses a number of factors, but overall depends on the opinion of a given community. The strength of a sports star’s brand equity is a key factor in the influence they exert in their community.

For the most part, athletic performance is positively correlated with, and has a major impact on the athlete’s brand value; there are some exceptional cases where, even if the athlete is not considered amongst the top performers in their sport, their style, actions on and off the field, beliefs and private life may positively affect the value of their brand.

One such example, where the strong beliefs and consequential actions of the athlete have affected the public perception favorably, and have thus resulted in enhancing his brand value and strength irrespective to his athletic performance, is the case of the NFL athlete Colin Kaepernick.  Kaepernick’s strong beliefs and protests against racial inequality and police brutality made him a much-talked about public figure in the United States and beyond.  His resulting fame, landed him the Nike advertising contract which turned him into an international symbol of activism.

In the case of Kaepernick, we have an athlete, who did not even have a playing contract yet was cashing in big time on the attributes of his personal brand:  his rebellious character; his activism; and his strong beliefs for which ‘he is willing to sacrifice everything’.  Nowadays, consumers want to know what their favorite brands stand for.  In this case, Nike aligned itself with Kaepernick and what he represents and admittedly, the attention the brand has received, despite the negative criticism, has brought Nike in the spotlight which, in itself, renders the campaign successful. The attributes of the particular sports persona are the exact ones that Nike wanted to project to the public and associate itself with.

However, Kaepernick was part of the San Francisco 49ers, an American football team, which is the most popular sport in the States. The key difference, therefore, is that even if you are not a vital or even important player of the team you still enjoy a certain degree of visibility since you are part of the team. Put otherwise, due to the fact that American football is a team sport, it means that athletes that are not as popular as others, can still use it as a platform to promote themselves, their brand or a cause.

In individual sports however, such as tennis or golf, unless you thrive athletically, the chances of you being able to build a formidable brand are much slimmer.  This is because the visibility of athletes in individual sports depends exclusively upon them and in some cases their opponents as well, if such opponents are famous. For example, a young tennis player who is ranked in the 900^th place will most likely only be watched by a handful of people unless she/he has a big break and advances considerably in a major tournament. Otherwise, she/he will never be able to reach a sufficient audience in order to start building their brand. In short, athletes in solo sports are much less likely to build a strong brand without reaching top athletic performance.

Real-Life Example (5-minute discussion) Anna Kournikova was a Russian-American tennis player whose celebrity status far surpassed her athletic achievements. She never managed to win any singles tournaments and only reached a major final once and lost to Serena Williams. Although she did climb to number 8 in the rankings in 2000, she was more successful in doubles where she even reached number 1 in a couple of occasions. However, her good looks turned her into one of the most famous athletes at the time. She was named one of People’s 50 Most Beautiful People in 1998. In 2002, she also placed first in FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World. She was also voted hottest female athlete in 1998 on ESPN. On the contrary, ESPN also named her as one of the “25 Biggest Sports Flops of the Past 25 Years”. Although some of the criticism she has drawn might be a bit too harsh, the fact remains that Kournikova became a big star despite her mediocre career. She was even one of the most searched athletes on Google at some point. What does this case teach us?

Athletes who have successfully commercialized their brand

We have already explored the importance of athletes building their brand, as a strong brand comes with many opportunities both on and off field. Excelling at the athlete’s given sport is a fundamental building block of their professional image, but a lot of individuals with raw talent have failed to build a strong brand. This is because, on top of being a great athlete, you need to show your personal attributes in order to really stand out in the public eye. Indeed, athletes do not build a fanbase solely on their athletic performance: a personal brand is what distinguishes one athlete from another.

As already discussed, to create a personal brand, an athlete would first need to identify what they stand for and who they want to reach with their message, bearing in mind that there is no secret formula. Building a brand is a very personal affair and various athletes, all outstanding at their respective sports, are each perceived differently by the media:

• Roger Federer, whose ethos is key to his reputation as one of the most admired athletes in the world is well known for his saying “it is nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice”, a phrase which perfectly sums up his “nice guy” reputation, with media stating that the more fans love him, the nicer he becomes. He also has one of the most recognizable personal brand/logos in the tennis world. Federer has been around since 2006, and people from around the world have been buying apparel emblazoned with this symbol since then. The RF logo is sophisticated, strong, and elegant, yet simple and recognizable. Federer is 40 years old and is safe to assume that he will never again be the best in the sport.  However, Federer will always be associated with fair play; for his ethics, good character and of course, greatness. Federer has managed to create a powerful brand and we can be certain that he will find ways to remain relevant even after his retirement.
• It’s not the usual thing to see strong brands in golf; Woods being the exception. However, Phil Mickelson known as “Lefty” was named by Forbes the highest-paid golfer in 2015. According to Forbes, Mickelson makes over $40 million from his endorsement deals and other appearances. He has featured in various commercials on TV as well.
• We keep mentioning Serena Williams, but she is and has been one of the strongest brands for years now. Serena is obviously one of the best in history, but the interesting part is that she has detached her brand from her current performances and managed to maintain a strong brand in spite of sports. Her involvement in fashion, social responsibility projects and philanthropy has contributed greatly towards that. Her strategy receives praise for successfully constructing a family-centric image. Most importantly, her online persona matches that of her actual behavior. She has therefore built a career and reputation beyond sports.

It is evident that each athlete stands out for something different and that their personal brand really is a set of their unique qualities. All are known for their exceptional athletic abilities but each of them has a specific set of traits which attracts different types of audiences that would lead to off-field opportunities in diverse industries, be it fashion, healthcare, tourism, gaming, even politics! The founding pillar and key to building a successful personal brand is genuineness and originality because, at the end of the day, you need to walk your talk: be true to yourself and let your personality shine!

The new regime:  Using blockchain, NFTs and smart contracts to promote the athletic brand

With the evolution of Blockchain technology, NFTs and Smart Contracts, the sports image rights landscape is beginning to change.  Blockchain technology has revolutionized the way athletes can build, commercialize and protect their brand.  The ubiquity of digital technology has given rise to a stream of innovations and to new sources of growth within the sports industry.  Fan experience has been given a new dimension as it is now beginning to take place in both the physical and the digital worlds by connecting either physical sports locations or athletes to a virtual universe in real time.

1. Defining Blockchain, NFTs and Smart Contracts and an overview of how they can help grow the sports industry

To understand the new digital world that is beginning to become part of our lives, we need to become familiar with its terminology and tools.

Blockchain technology makes use of cryptography, game theory and peer-to-peer networks.  A Blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions that is distributed across a network of computers, rather than being maintained by a single, centralized authority.  The participants of each node of the network can access an identical copy of the ledger, and any changes/additions made to the ledger are reflected and copied to all nodes.  Transactions are validated, lumped together in ‘blocks’ and added to an already existing chain.  Once a transaction has been added to the Blockchain, it cannot be altered or removed.

Tokenization is the representation of an asset (like an athlete or sports tickets) on a token to allow them to be managed and exchanged using blockchain technology.

Tokens of a Blockchain are often issued during an Initial Coin Offering, which is a way of raising funds using cryptocurrencies.  Tokens are either created via a smart contract in an existing Blockchain or allocated in the first block of a new Blockchain.  The most noteworthy types of tokens are:

• Utility tokens, which represent future rights to a product or service; and
• Security tokens, which are the issuer’s debt or equity instruments

A Smart Contract is a computer code that automatically triggers events agreed between two parties.  Smart contracts make cryptocurrencies and tokens programmable.  Some Blockchains such as Ethereum, are considered more suitable for the use of smart contracts since they have been designed to cater for such contracts.

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are unique tokens that give their holders immutable ownership rights to specific assets.  NFTs are minted from digital objects that represent both tangible and intangible items.  Each NFT has a unique digital signature and certifies that an asset is unique and not interchangeable for another.  The record of ownership of the NFT is stored and transferred on digital ledgers.  Ownership of the underlying asset may never leave the creator and the NFT represents a bundle of rights, either exclusive or shared with others, to access the asset and potentially exploit it for commercial purposes.

2. Intensifying Fan Engagement through Blockchain technology

Tech-enabled fan communities are vital in building or breaking a global sports brand.  Blockchain technology in the sports industry, is reimagining the fan experience to create innovative fan engagement opportunities and it offers a number of opportunities to engage an athlete’s fanbase through different types of fan engagement tokens.  In addition, athletes and brands can utilize virtual experiences to activate user engagement in the digital world.  Blockchain is currently widely used to incentivize fan interaction and create unique experiences.  It also allows athletes to crowdfund performances by utilizing income share agreements.  In a nutshell, Blockchain has created new revenue streams by allowing athletes to monetize fan engagement through tokenized loyalty reward schemes.

Fans can interact with multiple platforms, clubs, and protocols while maintaining one verified user ‘fan identity’.  The introduction of a Blockchain-based identity makes it easier for athletes, teams and sponsors to communicate and network with fans.  Rewards and payouts for fans’ winnings will be distributed simultaneously since smart contracts can operate with real-time performance and transactions.

It can be safely said that the technology is enhancing levels of engagement and loyalty, bringing fans closer to athletes and teams than ever before.  Various platforms, such as bFAN, Fantastec and Fantoken, are Blockchain solutions which, through the use of their platforms, connect fans with their favorite athletes and teams, and reward fan engagement in a number of ways.

3. The use of NFTs and smart contracts in connection with sports image rights
   1. New options for investing in athletes’ image rights. Fractionalized NFT-based smart sports contracts

Several start-ups, through the use of Blockchain technology, are offering potential investors the opportunity to invest in the next generation of sports ‘stars’.  With fractionalized NFT contracts, potential investors can get a ‘piece’ of their favorite athlete since they can play an important role in financially supporting their future sports ‘stars’ whilst ensuring a sustainable investment opportunity for themselves as well.

SportyCo, for example, aspires to connect young promising athletes with investors, who will help them co-fund their career for a stake in their future revenues, either from sport or from the commercialization of their brand or both.  To do that, SportyCo issues the SPF token which, in essence, is a utility token holding rights to athletes’ future revenues via a smart contract.

Jetcoin is another platform that bridges the relationship between young athletes and would-be investors, who mainly consist of fans.  Built on the Ethereum Blockchain, Jetcoin provides the opportunity for talents to develop their image with the support of their fanbase.  Jetcoin secures a percentage from the young athletes’ contracts or from agencies and agents.  To raise funds, Jetcoin releases JET tokens to be purchased by fans wishing to benefit from the future financial successes of promising talents.  Jetcoin implements the young athlete’s career plans with its partners and allows fans to participate in a meaningful way.

1. Expanding opportunities in the commercialization of sports image rights.

For athletes, branding themselves online has become imperative to drive their success as professional sports ‘stars’.  Through their personal branding, athletes convince current and prospective sponsors and brands that they can benefit by using them as their brand ambassadors or promoters.  Blockchain technology, along with fractionalized NFT contracts, make it possible for athletes to obtain more than one brand or sponsor for the use of different aspects of their image. Athletes can license different aspects of their name, image and likeness, as tokenized assets for reproduction by fans, sponsors and brands.  The opportunities for commercializing the athletes’ brand through fractionalized NFTs are vast and hundreds of different types of NFTs can be minted, each carrying different types of economic rights or uses.  Through fractionalized NFTs, athletes can break down their economic rights to small, and, at the same time, affordable, particles which can be licensed to different people for profit.

In addition, with the use of NFTs and smart contracts, professional athletes can lend their name, image and likeness for profit in the digital space, in addition to the physical world.  For example, the digital space gives athletes the opportunity to mint different types of NFTs holding digital collectibles, digital trading cards and any other athlete-related digital tokenized assets.  Due to the fact that digital assets are purely imaginative and are based on creative imagination, the commercialization possibilities can be endless, and a multitude of new revenue streams can be created.  Moreover, royalty rights for an athlete’s image, name and likeness can now be cryptographically protected too.  Through NFTs, athletes can automatically receive royalty payments on branded merchandise or memorabilia each time an asset is sold.

4. Does Blockchain ensure security and transparency? Legality of smart contracts and protection of sports image rights

Usually, the law is a step behind technology since technology, by definition, develops more rapidly, with legal norms following in reaction to the developments.  It is currently claimed that Blockchain technology can potentially eradicate counterfeit sporting merchandise and goods.  Using Blockchain, each branded collectible item can be given a unique digital identity and buyers and fans can view the authenticity of the item by scanning a QR (Quick Response) code.  Additionally, through the QR code they will be able to verify the maximum available supply and display a chain of previous ownership.  In short, Blockchain allows sponsors and brands to validate the authenticity of NFT smart contracts.  Another claim in support of NFT contracts on Blockchain is that they emerge as a potential concept for exploring trademark guardianship for the image rights of athletes.

However, there are those who advocate that, smart contracts may not be so secure.  In smart contracts, contractual clauses and functional outcomes are mapped as code on Blockchain.  Any mistake or accidental vulnerability of the code would have to be regarded as part of the contract too.  In addition, deliberate ambiguity in a contract is not possible; therefore, clauses involving terms like ‘bona fide’ or ‘force majeure’ cannot be implemented as code and cannot be part of a smart contract.

An important feature of smart contracts is that Blockchain technology impedes retroactive alteration, therefore smart contracts are unmodifiable and final.  This also entails that an automated transaction cannot be reversed or rolled back.  This might be a challenge when a contract or an action performed under the underlying contract needs to be declared void.

As technology advances, it is obvious that we need to establish more explicit legal frameworks around NFT ownership and clarify how NFTs relate to existing forms of ownership rights, especially around intellectual property.  It is to be said though that Blockchain technology with its distributed ledger ensures immutable, yet transparent recording and storage of each transaction and information.

5. Valuation issues: The challenges of valuing sports image rights-related NFTs

Attempting to value NFTs is a speculative and challenging practice, since the particular asset class is relatively new. There are three main factors to be considered when valuing NFTs and they have to do with their rarity, utility and tangibility.  Usually, people are drawn to rare NFTs, because they give the owner a sense of distinction and their rarity determines the premium value of an NFT.  Also, the utility of an NFT comes from its real application whether in the physical or digital worlds.  NFTs, which are tied to real-world objects, derive their value from the tangible objects they hold.  Also, at the time of its creation, the value of an NFT may be dependent on the characteristics of its creator.

There are also several secondary factors contributing to the value of NFTs.  Chain security is quite important, meaning that the underlying Blockchain is and stays secure.  Currently the Ethereum platform is considered to be the most secure smart contract platform.  Also, whether an NFT has direct incorporation of its metadata in the smart contract which represents the particular token, is a factor that can contribute or detract from the value of an NFT.  On-chain NFTs, whose metadata is incorporated into the token, are considered more valuable.

NFTs holding different types of economic rights connected to an athlete’s personal brand can be valued on the basis of the economic rights they hold (utility) and on the expected future revenues/cashflow of these rights, discounted into the present using an appropriate risk factor.  The risk factor should be determined by taking into account the significant risks related to security over the digital assets and internal controls over transactions.  In addition, the value should be adjusted to reflect whether the NFT is on-chain or off-chain and whether the underlying Blockchain is a secure one.

A final factor in valuing NFTs has to do with their liquidity.  The more liquidity an NFT has, the greater its value will be.  A liquidity premium is one of the reasons why tokens created on the Ethereum Blockchain have better values than tokens that were created off the chain.  Anyone that has Ethereum, can easily trade ETC-standard NFT through secondary marketplaces.

6. The Future: Metaverse and more sports image rights monetization opportunities

The Metaverse is a digital shared space where everyone will be able to seamlessly interact in a fully immersive, simulated experience: a parallel virtual world.  For sports image rights holders, the Metaverse would open numerous monetization opportunities.  For example, the growing interest in NFTs, across the digital space, could lead to activations in the Metaverse.  The idea of owning digital items would generate a fresh source of revenue and engagement, as there would be a number of virtual events in which athletes can participate and increase both their visibility, fan engagement and revenues.

With the emergence of the Metaverse, the marketing of rights holders and brands will be revolutionized, with no one currently being able to predict accurately what the Internet and Metaverse will look like in the future.  We are sure of one thing though:  the Metaverse will no doubt allow for creative uses of sports image rights which will disrupt existing business models!

Action Steps – Exercise 5 (10 minutes):

Answer the following quiz to see how much you took away from today’s class

1. What is a sports celebrity brand?

1. The brand related to the athlete’s performance on the pitch
2. The brand that athletes create after their retirement from action
3. An off-the-pitch brand that can even exist in spite of athletic performance
4. The brand that athletes create when they star in a movie

2. Which of the following are components of the athlete’s brand image?

1. Athletic performance
2. Attractive appearance
3. Marketable lifestyle
4. All of the above

3. A vital first step to creating a successful branding strategy is to identify your followers and broader audience?

1. True
2. False

4. A crisis management strategy is about handling the athlete’s public behavior/misbehavior through various media outlets and handling online criticism and public anger or malicious comments.

1. True
2. False

5. One of the components of the athlete’s brand image (See Q2) is athletic performance. Which of the following are NOT part of that? Choose all that apply.

1. Body fitness
2. Competition style
3. Sportsmanship
4. Life story

6. Sponsorships are offered by sponsoring brands who support a sports celebrity and hope that their appeal to the public will have a positive effect on the brand’s product sales.

1. True
2. False

7. Endorsements are offered by famous brands to athletes as a token of gratitude when the athlete helps the brand to surpass a certain amount of sales.

1. True
2. False

8. Which are the two things under the control of a brand management strategy?

1. the performance/athletic aspect
2. the personal/reputation aspect
3. the commercial/business aspect
4. the emotional aspect

9. The opinion that the public holds for an athlete does not affect their brand’s commercial value.

1. True
2. False

10. Which are the most common protectable trademarks? Choose all that apply

1. Home town name
2. Jersey number
3. Name
4. Likeness

Answers:

1. c	6. a
2. d	7. b
3.  a	8. b, c
4.  a	9. b
5.  a,d	10.c, d

Lesson wrap-up

Today we have explored issues related to the athlete’s brand, its development and commercial usage. We stressed the importance of having an accurate picture of where athletes are, in terms of their personal branding, so that they can plan their branding activities accordingly.  Strengthening the athlete’s brand equity is important since it forms the basis of an athlete’s commercial value from a consumer’s point of view.  Carefully building a long-term plan, can help athletes maximize the benefits from the commercial use of their sports brand.  Taking steps to protect the athletic brand, using legal means, is also central to the athlete’s ability to maximize revenues that emanate from their brand.

At this point, we will wrap-up today’s lesson.  First, we will go over the learning objectives of this lesson and we want your feedback as to whether they have been achieved, and then we will address any questions you may have.  Please feel free to ask anything you’d like in relation to today’s lecture and we would love to hear how the concepts we discussed today relate to you and your greater life plan.