Endorsements in Seattle
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Once again: we'll all believe it when we see it. :- )
Twice again: it's Hot Stove League. What did you want to talk about, the Seahawks? ::pfft::
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An interesting issue comes up: would you ever see a high-profile Team LeBron scenario sign with the Mariners, even if the Mariners were the only team offering a trophy contract? Or would the endorsement situation -- not the winning situation, but the endorsement situation -- preclude that?
I don't know the answer. Here are a few thoughts that come to mind. Hopefully you've got better than this :- )
My own instincts run to two basic ideas: (1) there is no city in the world like New York. (2) You can definitely do business in Seattle, my friend.
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Ken Griffey Jr.
Junior, playing in Seattle and Cincinnati, had deals with
- Nike
- NINTENDO (ahem)
- Wheaties
- Pizza Hut
- Pepsi
- Dick's Sporting Goods
- Upper Deck
- a bunch of others
Griffey is Griffey, but ... I wouldn't mind being on the cover of a major video game. The Nike and Nintendo deals come with TV commercials, and you can launch from there.
To a fan, it might not sound like much :- ) but if you're sitting at a conference table, planning an assault on Corporate America, that Nintendo deal certainly ain't anything to sneeze at.
Others have pointed out local opportunities - Starbucks, Amazon, Microsoft, Qwest, etc etc. And the club scene in Seattle is pretty edgy, if that's Cano's thing. Seattle is a big-time tech town. The bidness scene is major.
Not at all difficult for Mariner reps to go with "Ya you betcha. We'll get meets with Starbucks and Qwest next week." That much is for sure.
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ARod
There was probably never an athlete more interested in getting onto the cover of Time magazine.
However, when Texas offered the trophy contract, ARod found a way to rationalize playing for a loser, in a flyover state. "Just a coupla pieces and we're right there..."
I think what ARod/Texas underlines, is, Do Not Underestimate the Power of the Schmoozing. Time and again you here athletes say "This just FELT right." Read: the girls were there, the worship was there, the bling was there, the leather seats in the helicopter were there ... it was all a lot of fun in that city.
.........
ARod made sure that he could bail on Texas if they did NOT produce a winner. Presumably Cano would do the same.
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LeBron
There was a lot made of New York's full-court press --- > precisely about the endorsements. I remember some story about a leather portfolio given to LeBron, showing that he could become a BILLIONAIRE in New York, based on the high profile.
He chose Miami (where?!) because (it seems) he thought it would be fun to play there. And it's not like he's NOT on TV.
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Prince Fielder
Having done his penance in Milwaukee, you always got the impression that Team Boras wanted stardom for Prince. I dunno how many of you have ever been to Detroit?!
Takeway for me here would probably be, score the Trophy Contract and you'll find a way to rationalize the rest of it.
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Ichiro
Ichiro, playing in Seattle, apparently had any American endorsement opportunity he wanted (and we're leaving Japan out of the equation here). According to this article, baseballs stars gain marketability based not on the World Series or location, but based on traction they gain based on "excellence over a long period of time."
Cal Ripken, Nolan Ryan, and many other mega-stars are given as illustrations of the point.
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Dr's Prognosis
Without any doubt, New York endorsements can easily overwhelm the value of a player contract. (Although it's not clear why Cano doesn't already HAVE them.)
What seems odd, though, is that the Talking Heads on TV don't often refer to this factor. They refer to a team's chances of winning -- often because of their own bias; they didn't see ARod to Texas because they always round up The Usual Suspects -- and they refer to trophy contracts. But you don't see Ken Rosenthal talking about the lack of Armani opportunities in Detroit or St. Louis.
It seems to me that most athletes want trophy contracts, and they want to be fawned over, and they want a partnership with their organization (read: special treatment), and they will rationalize the rest. As ARod did.
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Now, if you want to say that Cano would not come here because we lose a lot, then that's another discussion. The ability to get on TV, to air-commute back-and-forth to Hollywood for screen tests, the ability to get on video-game covers? Doesn't seem to me like that's an issue compared to St. Louis. And nobody would be questioning Cano to St. Louis.
Could be wrong. But the guess here is that if Seattle is offering the ONLY trophy contract out there, then Cano is not at all unlikely to opt for it.
Or not,
Dr D