It's been the best of times for one champion athlete, and the worst of times for another.
Fascinating to me that, in roughly a month's time, possibly the most successful quarterback in NFL history is besieged with cheating allegations...which are deflating his once spotless public image. Meanwhile, a young Texas golfer who otherwise was unknown outside of golf circles is now a beacon of hope for the sport who was looking for a young American contender to stalwart Rory McIlroy's assault on the record books.
After winning his record-tying 4th Super Bowl, Tom Brady has had the weight of "Deflategate" hanging over his head...which of course finally came crashing down onto his head with the NFL's 4-game suspension.
BRADY'S FUTURE BRAND APPEAL SACKED BY DEFLATEGATE
Tom Brady's body has never taken a beating like this on the football field the way his public persona is being blitzed and sacked off the field.
Though none of the companies for whom Brady is a corporate endorser have dropped him as a spokesperson, there are metrics which suggest he may have a hard time finding future work as a pitchman:
- Based on data shared by E-Poll Market Research, his "appeal" rating fell from "75% liking him" in August 2014 to 68% in February 2015 (in the immediate aftermath of both Deflategate and his 4th Super Bowl) and 53% in May 2015 (after the Wells report's findings were released, and NFL punishment handed down).
- Conversely, according to E-Poll, his "negative appeal" rating for the same three period grew from 25%, 32%, and 47%. Thus, by May 2015, the gap between his positive appeal (53%) and negative appeal was only 6 percentage points. A far cry from the 82 percentage point differential experienced in 2004 after winning his 2nd Super Bowl (appeal rating of 91% and negative appeal rating of 9%).
- According to E-Poll, he has his lowest scores in the attribute categories of "talented" (45%), "sincere" (5%), and "trustworthy" (3%) since tracking began in 2004.
- Separately, the Marketing Arm Celebrity DBI data showed consumer trust in Brady dropped to 3,027th of 3,686 celebrities measured, from 967th on Feb. 5...just after he was named Super Bowl MVP.
- Furthermore, his DBI measurement of "credibility as an endorser" fell to 2,333rd from 259th, he dropped to 1,190th from 123rd in the "influence" category, and to 1,580 from 244th as a "trend setter".
THE NEW JORDAN'S FUTURE IS BRIGHT DUE TO CLEAN IMAGE AND MASTERS VICTORY
On the opposite end of the spectrum these days, Jordan Spieth's 2015 victory at the Masters not only marks his intentions to ascend to golf's greatest heights, but it places his clean-cut youthful image front and center...just begging for companies to line up to align with his fresh aura.
Again citing E-Poll data:
- His 2015 overall E-Score is now 62...up front 22 in 2014;
- His appeal score jumped 20 percentage points;
- Awareness among men (women) jumped 2.3 (1.5) times over 2014.
Translation? Winning Augusta's green jacket should line his bank accounts with more green, especially if he keeps sparkling on the greens in other big tournaments over the next few years.
ENDORSEMENT POTENTIAL
Brady's endorsement earnings as of now are roughly pegged at $7 million. With Deflategate, that annual value has likely reached its peak.
For Spieth, however, winning more majors in the next few years and becoming one of the world's top golfers could elevate him well into at least the $20 million range annually in endorsements.
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Dr. Rishe is the Founder and President of Sportsimpacts, as well as the Director of the Sports Business Program within the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St Louis.
