Marketable Manning
Head Coach Tony Dungy and running back Dominic Rhodes of the Super Bowl XLI Champion Indianapolis Colts performed the “I’m going to Disney World” honors for the popular “What’s Next?” commercial.
But you have to wonder what’s next for Colts quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning, who is already considered by many as the NFL’s most marketable player. Manning is all over television in commercials for MasterCard, Gatorade, Sprint and numerous others.
He reportedly earned $11.5M in endorsements in 2006. Bob Dorfman, executive vice president and creative director of Pickett Advertising and author of The Super Bowl XLI Sports Marketers’ Scouting Report, thinks Manning “could easily increase it by another $5 million to $10 million in 2007 - if he's willing to expend the time and energy required.”
We wondered if other NFL players see Manning as overexposed and asked a few at Super Bowl Media Day last week. The general consensus was No:
“I’d like to see him in more commercials,” Bears kicker Robbie Gould said.
“I would do as many as I possibly could if I was Peyton Manning,” said Bears wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad. “He’s worthy to be praised. He’s a great player and he’s a pretty good actor, too. He does a good job in those commercials.”
Asked if anyone was as marketable, Muhammad said his teammate, lineback Brian Urlacher.
“I don’t know what kind of commercials you’d put him in, but he’s pretty marketable,” Muhammad said.
And popular, too. Manning’s and Urlacher’s jerseys ranked three and four, respectively, in sales on NFL.com for the 2006 season. But Urlacher promised he wouldn’t compete with Manning for commercials.
“He can have it,” Urlacher said adding he didn’t think Manning was overexposed. “I like his commercials, maybe if his commercials were bad, I think possibly, but he has good commercials.”
But maybe so many commercials aren’t such a good thing for the companies, as some viewers are confused about what products he’s endorsing.
“He’s on every commercial,” said Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison. “I’m used to seeing him so much, that I don’t hardly pay attention anymore. I don’t know what commercial he represents, what sponsors. I don’t know what it is, I just know he’s just on TV all the time."
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.
