Nadal needs to change?

[babbette]

Brrr, this is exactly want I don't want for him!!! Winning Wimbledon brings him more unwanted attention, and in the process the US market want to Americanize him! Leave him alone. Take him as he is or not at all! We have enough Americanized stars

Nadal May Need More Personality, English to Win Endorsements

By Curtis Eichelberger

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal may be too nice and too limited in language skills to match his accomplishments on the tennis court with product endorsements.

Nadal, the 22-year-old Spaniard who won four straight French Opens and this week became the first person to beat Roger Federer at the All England Club since 2002, has to improve his English and put an edge on his personality to boost his income, sports marketing executives said.

At Wimbledon, he defeated Federer in a five-set match that lasted more than 4 3/4 hours, the longest final in the tournament's history. Afterward, he climbed into his family's box to hug his parents and shook the hand of Spanish Crown Prince Felipe. After beating Federer in straight sets in the final at Roland Garros in June, Nadal said he limited his celebration out of respect for his opponent.

``He's old school,'' said Steve Rosner, co-founder of sports marketing firm 16W in East Rutherford, New Jersey. ``He has class and he gets points for that. But from a marketing standpoint, you are looking for someone more outgoing, who really shows his personality.''

Rosner said Nadal can make a seven-figure income just from endorsing rackets, shoes and tennis-related products. To become a media star on the scale of Andre Agassi, who won eight Grand Slam tournaments before he retired in 2006, he'll have to communicate better with more people.

Right Words

``English is the universal language,'' said Rosner, whose clients include Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken Jr. and former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms. ``Andre Agassi was one of the greatest ever; more than a photograph or a smile. A good part of it was Andre interacting with the television audience, telling a story. He was more than a tennis player, he was a personality.''

Federer, a 26-year-old Swiss, speaks English with only a trace of an accent. The winner of 12 majors and five Wimbledons in a row made $8.61 million in winnings in 2007, according to the men's ATP Tour. Sports Illustrated estimated his total 2007 earnings, including endorsements, at $35.1 million.

Nadal didn't make the magazine's list of top 20 non-U.S. athletes. So far this year, he has earned $5.49 million on the court. His agent, Carlos Costa, declined to say what the player made from endorsement income.

Nadal's Endorsements

The Spaniard has agreements with apparel maker Nike Inc., car company Kia Motors Corp., Spanish bank Banco Espanol de Credito SA; closely-held Grupo Valentin's watch-maker Time Force and L'Oreal SA hair products maker.

Nadal, the second-ranked player in the world behind Federer, became the first man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Bjorn Borg did it in 1980.

The lure of more income from endorsements won't get him to change, said the player's spokesman, Benito Perez-Barbadillo.

``His image has grown very much because of winning Wimbledon, but it won't change the way he is,'' Perez-Barbadillo said. ``We've been working on his marketability for four years. It's very simple. Follow what he is: humble, down to earth.''

Jim Andrews, director of IEG Sponsorship Report, a Chicago- based newsletter that estimates the value of corporate sponsorships, said Nadal hasn't publicly addressed the most significant issue: Does he want to become a top endorser, or would he rather limit his sponsorships and focus on winning tennis matches?

``He is a quiet, humble guy, who leads a normal life,'' Andrews said. ``He's not on the national party circuit, or taking meetings with Fortune 500 types. And if that's who he is, that's just fine.

``The Wimbledon victory puts him on the list of endorsers to consider. But until he makes an effort to clean up his English and show he wants to get out there and sell, I don't think anyone will be dialing their agents screaming, `We've got to sign this guy.'''

To contact the reporter on this story: Curtis Eichelberger in Washington at ceichelberge@bloomberg.net

 

[DarkSephiroth]

He really does seem like a nice humble guy who wants to live a normal life. This is a really interesting article. =D

 

[Deleted member 3771]

what A silly article.

 

[slice bh compliment]

The article is from the commercial standpoint, clearly.
As an athlete/writer/reader/tennis fan.....it was boring.

But, I'm glad I read it -- I like Rafa even more now.

 

[moose89]

Wow, I love how this is possibly Nadal's worst problem. Leave the guy alone. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who wants that kind of spot light.

 

[slice bh compliment]

Wow, I love how this is possibly Nadal's worst problem. Leave the guy alone. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who wants that kind of spot light.

LOL, yeah, well, besides the knees.
But, yeah, I definitely agree with you. He's not a fame chaser.
Raf seems like the kind of kid who just wants to run, sweat, play better and make the other guy run more than ever.

Good for you, Raf, keep it real.

 

[TheTruth]

He should be who he is. That is totally ridiculous. Or, he can alienate his fans for the sake of a dollar. When I was a Sampras fan that was one of the things I most admired about him. He didn't sell himself like someone on the corner. This obsession with money is ridiculous!

 

[FloridaAG]

Nonsense - even if they were concerned with language - his improvement in English has been dramatic.

I think he shows much more personality than Federer or Tiger Woods and they don't seem to have any trouble with endorsements.

I think the fact that he comes from a succesful family has helped keep him grounded.

 

[crawl4]

Nonsense - even if they were concerned with language - his improvement in English has been dramatic.

I think he shows much more personality than Federer or Tiger Woods and they don't seem to have any trouble with endorsements.

I think the fact that he comes from a succesful family has helped keep him grounded.

dont go pushing that bout fed and woods but i do agree he has improved drastically..i really like him as a character

 

[eric draven]

Nadal is a class act and obviously a grounded person. To be that way at such a young age in the glare of a spotlight should be applauded not criticized. Reminds me of another great player from Mallorca: Carlos Moya.

 

[Meanstreak]

Whilst I agree that making money should not be at the top of his list, it would be sad if someone like Djokovic gets more out of endorsements simply because he speaks better English, even if Rafa ends up being the #1 player.

I am sure Rafa's English will improve with time it is getting better, and we have to accept that English is the universal language, it does give one a leg up.

He'll need to mix with morEnglish speaking people, I'm sure he si working on t.

 

[sillymonkey]

So typical of Madison Ave types to be thinking solely about the English speaking market. I suppose Rafa could make a cheesy racquet commercial like Federer , Novak and Lopez. They do no speaking in them, so no worries about accents.
Anyway, I believe Nadal has broad appeal anywhere. It just takes someone with a creative mind to utilize his strengths in an ad campaign.
Many U.S. movie stars are the faces of ad campaigns in Japan/Asia, and we don't ever see these ads in the U.S. I'm sure Rafa's European endorsements bring in $ for the companies or they wouldn't continue to run them.
I think turning Nadal into a money making machine like Sharapova would be a mistake. To me, she's a soulless shrill money-grubber.
Why do we always want to corrupt people?

 

[babbette]

Why do we always want to corrupt people?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ oh and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!


Btw, not sure how much Rafa is going to be able to keep his life as private as it was before. The pictures of him at home are everywhere on the net; even the sleazy gossip sites like Just jared, x 17 online......Was he ever on those sites before?

 

[jrachiever]

What is everyone getting upset about this article? It looks like it was put out by Bloomberg, which is a financial publication. It's not some sports journalist writing an opinion piece. There's a very basic set of facts laid forward:

1) Rafael Nadal has tremendous marketing potential
2) He currently is taking in an unknown but likely moderate amount of endorsements
3) He could make a boatload more by improving his English and showing more personality off the court
4) It's unclear whether he even wants to seek out mega-endorsement deals and become a worldwide media superstar, but current indications are probably not.

It seems like a very decent, concise, informative article for anyone who might be wondering, gee, I wonder why, given Nadal's continually rising star and tremendous accomplishments on the court, he's not being marketed harder like some of the stars of the past?

 

[The-Champ]

Rafa is already a multi-millionaire, on prize money alone. He has enough money already. That accent of his is cool by the way and all he needs to do is improve his grammar. The accent is fine and once he wins the US-open, more endorsements will come.

 

[orangettecoleman]

all he needs to change is his tendency to dress like a pirate. start wearing normal shorts and shirts with sleeves. you aren't 14 anymore.

 

[miniRafa386]

i think its somewhat true, not so much about being more out going, but the language barrier.

 

[veroniquem]

What a stupid article! The obsession with dealing with people as products is scary. Rafa has tons of personality (he is plenty outgoing) and I'm not worrying about his financial prospects. He just has to stay away from the lowbrow, superficial, image is everything, souldestroying American market. In modern times, it's almost miraculous that anybody could escape "the machine". Money is NOT everything, I fervently hope that Rafa will NOT change. I love him as an island boy who likes fishing! Greedy big business: leave him alone! He's 50 times more genuine and less contrived than the guys mentioned in that article.

 

[The-Champ]

What a stupid article! The obsession with dealing with people as products is scary. Rafa has tons of personality (he is plenty outgoing) and I'm not worrying about his financial prospects. He just has to stay away from the lowbrow, superficial, image is everything, souldestroying American market. In modern times, it's almost miraculous that anybody could escape "the machine". Money is NOT everything, I fervently hope that Rafa will NOT change. I love him as an island boy who likes fishing! Greedy big business: leave him alone! He's 50 times more genuine and less contrived than the guys mentioned in that article.

I agree. They probably want him to become the male Kournikova!

 

[veroniquem]

I agree. They probably want him to become the male Kournikova!

He's very good-looking, athletic, sexy, jovial, energetic and youthful. However he doesn't really fit the prepackaged American cliche of marketable teenage idol and he's not fluent in English. That might save him from the big business circus that prevails in the US! Lucky for him if you ask me...

 

[Casey10s]

Just remember that the ATP Tour is a product. If your top players can't communicate well enough with the people who have the money to invest, this will hurt the game as well as as Nadal's earnings. If Nadal's personality is as genuine as it is portrayed, he would be a good ambassador for tennis. He appears to be a little more outgoing than some of the other current pros.

Not a stupid article if you sit back and think that part your duties if you are near the top is to promote the game as Agassi, Federer, Navritolova, Evert, etc. have done through the years. Sampras seems to be doing this more lately which is also a boost. If you look at the other sports, you always have your stars promoting the sport.

 

[Eviscerator]

Absurd assertion

 

[sureshs]

You can criticize the MBA types as much as you like, but it is because of them that players today are savvy and can retire comfortably, even as age and injuries cut their careers short. Someone like Laver knows this well and was one of the first clients of IMG, having said that he made so little at one time he was planning to quit tennis and become an encyclopedia salesman (remember them?) to support his family. It is good that marketers are looking for an opportunity to maximize Nadal's earnings and he and his family will be grateful to them down the line.

 

[pound cat]

i think its somewhat true, not so much about being more out going, but the language barrier.[/QUOTE

Considering he didn't speak any English until a couple of years ago and no one at home speaks it, he's doing pretty well. Maybe a bit of tutoring by an ESL teacher to expand his vocabulary beyond..how did you feel when you fell to the lfoor after your win "Thank, you , thank you very much" But it must be hard to fit in english lessons with the 24/7 demands on his time.

 

[coloskier]

Rafa is already a multi-millionaire, on prize money alone. He has enough money already. That accent of his is cool by the way and all he needs to do is improve his grammar. The accent is fine and once he wins the US-open, more endorsements will come.

If he won't get any more endorsements until he wins the USO, he's going to go broke. I don't see him ever winning the USO. He would have to radically change his game, even more than he did for Wimbledon. The biggest change would be to get a real 2nd serve and make his forehand almost totally flat. It is what Fed had to do to win the USO, he flattens out his shots big time there. Heavy topspin shots fall too short for hard courts and get destroyed by the many flat hitters that are out there.