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Colts Victory May Bring Manning $3 Million More in Endorsements
Feb 5, 2010
Colts Victory May Bring Manning $3 Million More in Endorsements
By Curtis Eichelberger
Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Quarterback Peyton Manning stands to add almost 25 percent to his $13 million in annual endorsements if he leads the Indianapolis Colts to their second Super Bowl championship in four years.
Bob Dorfman, executive creative director at San Francisco- based Baker Street Advertising, said Manning may gain the most of any player in the Feb. 7 National Football League championship game between the Colts and the New Orleans Saints in Miami.
“Another Super Bowl ring on Peyton’s finger is probably worth another $3 million in annual ad deals,” Dorfman, 55, said in a news release.
A study by The Marketing Arm, a Dallas-based firm that helps companies narrow their search for celebrity endorsers, found Manning ranked highest among NFL players in influencing consumer purchases. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was second.
“The Super Bowl is just going to add to his legend,” Darin David, 40, an account director at The Marketing Arm, said in a telephone interview. “He has a great work ethic. It makes him that much more authentic when he endorses a product.”
Ranks Fifth
Manning’s sponsorship deals now include MasterCard Inc., PepsiCo Inc.’s Gatorade sports drink and Kraft Foods Inc.’s Oreo cookies.
He ranked fifth on the 2010 version of the Power100, a list of the most powerful athletes on and off the field compiled by Bloomberg BusinessWeek and CSE, an integrated sports and entertainment company that connects brands with fans. Tiger Woods topped the list, followed by LeBron James, Phil Mickelson and Albert Pujols.
A 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll of 1,216 adults nationwide released on Feb. 1 asked respondents who should replace Woods as the nation’s leading athletic role model now that the world’s top-ranked golfer has admitted infidelity. Twenty-three percent said Manning. No other athlete got more than 6 percent.
“His clean-cut image is a major factor because corporations don’t want to associate their product with someone who has scandal, and that’s evidenced by Tiger losing a lot of his endorsement deals after having his issues in late fall of last year,” Scott Minto, 29, director of San Diego State University’s Sports Business MBA program, said in a telephone interview.
Latest Contract
Manning, 33, who signed a seven-year, $99.2 million contract with an upfront signing bonus of $34.5 million in 2004, earned $14 million in base salary this year, according to the NFL union’s Web site.
He likely will negotiate a contract extension this offseason. Manning’s younger brother Eli Manning of the New York Giants signed a six-year, $97.5 million contract extension in August, the New York Daily News said.
Manning’s first big role as a television pitchman came when MasterCard Worldwide produced commercials featuring the quarterback as a fan of fans.
In the spots, Manning cheers regular people who make mistakes: a waitress who drops a tray, a piano delivery crew that drops a piano, a paper boy whose errant throw breaks Manning’s window. “That’s OK, Bobby, you still have the best arm in the neighborhood,” Manning shouts.
New Roles
Manning’s popularity as a pitchman has encouraged sponsors to use him now in more ways, such as having him attend bank seminars and speak at MasterCard employee events.
“You will see us using him more as Peyton Manning the person, rather than Peyton Manning the NFL player,” said Michael Robichaud, vice president, global sponsorships for MasterCard Worldwide. “The fact that his on-the-field performance has been as successful as it has is certainly great for us. He transcends the sport.”
Manning passed for 4,500 yards and 33 touchdowns this season to lead the Colts to a 14-2 record and their second Super Bowl appearance in four years. Indianapolis beat the Chicago Bears, 29-17, in the Super Bowl after the 2006 season.
