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Posts Tagged ‘Booking Agent’

I’ve read on more than one occasion since the Tiger Woods story broke last month that the endorsement market for all athletes will suffer as a result of his indiscretions. The thinking goes that if companies can’t trust someone like Tiger, who for years had the cleanest image among all athletes, who can they trust?

Tiger Woods continues to endorse Nike. The organization stands behind him.

I don’t agree with this assessment. There’s an inherent risk whenever a company utilizes an athlete. He could get hurt, traded, arrested or, in the case of Tiger, caught with his pants down. Athletes have been endorsing products for close to 100 years and will continue to do so.

For every high-profile scandal such as Tiger or Kobe Bryant earlier this decade that resulted in companies either cancelling or not renewing their endorsement agreements, there are countless examples of endorsement deals that have been successful. Do you think Nike was disappointed with Michael Jordan or Gatorade with Derek Jeter?

Over the weekend, I was watching CNN and three commercials in a row featured athletes – Howie Long for Chevrolet, Dan Marino for NutriSystem and Chris Berman for Applebees. So will there be any fallout from “Tigergate”?

My guess is that companies will scrutinize potential endorsers even closer. Morality clauses, which give companies the ability to opt out of an endorsement agreement should an issue arise, will likely be tightened even more. And most importantly, companies likely won’t build their entire advertising campaign around just one athlete, which is what Accenture did with Tiger. Some people have estimated it will cost Accenture tens of millions of dollars just to remove all the advertising featuring Tiger. How many times have you been in an airport and seen an Accenture billboard with Tiger?

Speaking of Tiger, his fall from the mountaintop has been historic. Never has an athlete of Tiger’s stature fallen so far so fast. Just a month ago, ask someone to describe Tiger’s image and you would likely hear such words as squeaky-clean, trustworthy and integrity. To date, among his sponsors who have either cancelled or scaled down their involvement with him  include Tag Heuer, Accenture and Gillette. Gatorade is phasing out its Tiger product, although it made the announcement a few days prior to the start of Tiger’s problems.

PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency is a top booking agent for athlete endorsement deals,  athlete appearances and sports speakers. For more information on how to book an athlete endorsement or appearance, call 800.966.1380

Tiger Woods earns $1B becoming highest paid athlete

Forbes reported last week that Tiger Woods became the first athlete to earn $1 billion in career earnings from endorsements, prize winnings, golf course design and appearance fees. Woods reportedly earns $30 million a year from Nike and receives $10 million per project for his golf design work. He also just won $10 million last week for winning the FedEx Cup title.

The crazy part is that Woods in only 33 years old and has many years of competitive golf, endorsements and golf course design ahead of him. It’s not a stretch to say that he’ll likely make well in excess of $2 billion by the time his career ends. It’s estimated that he has now earned more than NBA great Michael Jordan ($800 million) and retired Formula One driver Michal Shumacher ($700 million).

Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan compete at San Francisco Golf Tournament

I thought it would be interesting to look at the list of highest paid endorsers…

1. Tiger Woods ($110 million)…Even though he missed the second half of 2008 and the first part of this year with a knee injury, Woods is still the king of earnings.

2T. Kobe Bryant ($45 million)…The NBA’s most popular player on a global basis, Bryant is more popular in China than he is in the United States.

2T. Michael Jordan ($45 million)…Jordan is still Nike’s highest paid endorser, reportedly earning more than $40 million per year from his Jordan brand.

2T. Kimi Raikkonen ($45 million)…Formula One’s highest paid driver.

5. David Beckam ($42 million)…Although Beckham’s on the downside of his career, he’s still the most visible soccer player in the world and has endorsements with Adidas and Motorola among others.

6T. Manny Pacquiao ($40 million)…His last two fights against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton generated more than $100 million in revenue from pay-per-view.

6T. LeBron James ($40 million)…The Michael Jordan of this era, James is the face of the NBA along with Bryant.

6T. Phil Mickelson ($40 million)…Mickelson has earned more than $54 million in prize money during his career, trailing only Woods and Vijay Singh in money earned over a career.

9. Valentino Rossi ($35 million)…The most popular motorcycle racer in the world. Rossi earns $16 million per year just from Yamaha.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ($34 million)…Earnhardt Jr. was voted NASCAR’s most popular driver for the sixth straight year in 2008.

Next Ten…11T. Roger Federer ($34 million); 11T. Shaquille O’Neal ($33 million); 13T. Oscar De La Hoya ($32 million); 13T. Lewis Hamilton ($32 million); 13T. Alex Rodriguez ($32 million); 16. Vijay Singh ($31 million); 17T. Kevin Garnett ($30 million); 17T. Jeff Gordon ($30 million) and 17T. Ronaldinho ($30 million)

The most glaring absence from this list is the lack of representation from the NFL. One would think the most popular sport in the U.S. would be well represented, but NFL salaries aren’t as high as other sports and only a handful of players earn large endorsement income. Even though they’re not on the list, among the top earning NFL players are Payton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.

Another interesting fact is that the only retired player on the list is Jordan. Among the top earning retired athletes who didn’t make the list are Cal Ripken Jr, John Elway, Muhammad Ali, Magic Johnson and John McEnroe.

PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency is a top booking agent for sports stars, athlete appearances, endorsements and celebrities. If you would like to hire a sports star for an  endorsement,  appearance or speaking engagement, contact us or call 800 966-1380.

With a quarter of the NFL season behind us, who are the two most surprising teams thus far?

San Francisco 49ers vs Buffalo Bills

Josh McDaniels Broncos coach

The most surprising team in my opinion is the Denver Broncos. No one predicted the Broncos would start 4-0. With the departure of Jay Cutler, the hiring of a new head coach in Josh McDaniels and the pouting of talented wide receiver Brandon Marshall, many people predicted the Broncos would have a hard time winning more than just a couple of games this season.

So why are they playing so well?

The main reason is the defense. The Broncos defense has been dismal in recent years, one of the worst in the league. This year’s defense is completely rebuilt. Defensive end Elvis Dumervil leads the league with 8 sacks through four games and is likely headed to his first Pro Bowl, veteran Brian Dawkins is playing like a future Hall of Famer and Champ Bailey continues to be one of the top cornerbacks in the league. As a team, the Broncos are ranked third in the league in overall defense and are in the top five in most major defensive categories. Last season, the Broncos gave up an average of 28 points per game. This season, they’ve given up just 26 points in four games. The team has also produced 10 turnovers, three shy of what they did all of last season.

Offensively, the team is enjoying a balanced attack. No one will mistake quarterback Kyle Orton for John Elway, but he’s not making many mistakes and is doing enough to put points on the board. Rookie running back Knowshon Moreno leads all rookie running backs in rushing while a talented wide receiver corps led by Eddie Royal, Brandon Marshall and Brandon Stokley gives Orton numerous weapons.

Up this week: New England Patriots

Mike Singletary 49er's coach

The next most surprising team is the San Francisco 49ers, who are 3-1 and would be 4-0 if it weren’t for a Brett Favre desperation touchdown pass in the closing seconds two weeks ago. It looks as though the team has bought into the philosophy of coach Mike Singletary, a very fiery and intense coach who commands respect from his players. The defense, led by Takeo Spikes, Nate Clements and Patrick Willis, has played stellar and is ranked 5th in the league in rushing defense and 8th overall. The offense has been productive as well with running back Frank Gore and tight end Vernon Davis giving the team a legitimate air and ground threat.

Up this week: Atlanta

PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency is a speakers bureau and top booking agent for football speakers, athlete appearances and endorsements. For more information call 800.966.1380

With the NFL season upon us, there are numerous interesting story lines. The question is how will some of the NFL teams fare in the 2009-2010 season. NFL teams like the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys are just a few of the most intriguing story lines.

Tony Romo, QB for Dallas Cowboys and Kurt Warner, QB for AZ Cardinals

• How will the Denver Broncos fare? The Broncos have never had an offseason filled with such turmoil as this one. It began when Josh McDaniels was named to succeed Mike Shanahan as head coach. Soon after, All-Pro quarterback Jay Cutler was traded to the Chicago Bears. And most recently, Brandon Marshall was suspended for the last couple weeks of the pre-season for conduct detrimental to the team. It will be interesting to see how the team reacts to all the adversity. Will Kyle Orton perform at a high level and become a local hero like John Elway? Will Marshall settle down and play like he’s capable? There are a few bright spots. Eddie Royal is one of the best young wide receivers in the league. Veteran Brian Dawkins joins future Hall of Famer Champ Bailey in the secondary. And Ryan Clady is as good a left tackle as there is.

• How will Terrell Owens do in Buffalo? The Bills are desperate to improve a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 1999 and picked up TO during the offseason for what I believe will prove to be a bad move. The season has barely started and TO is already complaining about the offense. He proved at his last two stops – Dallas and Philly – that he’s not a team player. If it’s not about TO all the time, he’s not happy. And the Bills quarterback, Trent Edwards, isn’t nearly as talented as TO’s previous two quarterbacks – Tony Romo and Donovan McNabb.

• Will the Arizona Cardinals reach the Super Bowl again?  The Cardinals had an amazing run last year, one that no one could have predicted. Thanks to the leadership of Kurt Warner, the Cardinals won the NFL West with a 9-7  record and got red-hot in the playoffs. They became only the second team with a 9-7 regular season record to reach the Super Bowl. Most of their team remains intact this year. Besides Warner, they return the best wide receiver tandem in the league in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldon.

• Has the New England Patriots dominance come to an end? A lot of people think so. Quarterback Tom Brady returns from a season-ending injury and the Patriots lost a couple of team-leaders…Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi and Richard Seymour. The Patriots also lost quarterback Matt Cassell, who played exceptionally well in Brady’s absence last season. The addition of veterans Joey Galloway and Fred Taylor will help but the team’s success will fall squarely on the shoulders of Brady.

• How will the Dallas Cowboys fare? Last year was a major disappointment for Cowboys fans. Too many distractions and inconsistent play resulted in a 8-8 season. Terrell Owens and Pacman Jones, two of the major distractions a year ago, are gone. The team enjoys arguably the deepest running back corps in the league with Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice.  Besides Romo’s performance, which is always scrutinized, the biggest question mark this year will be the defense. They lost veteran Greg Ellis and almost the entire secondary, so a return to the glory eras of Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman isn’t going to happen this season.

PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency is a speakers bureau and top booking agent for football speakers, athlete appearances and endorsements. For more information call 800.966.1380

Joe Mauer catcher for MLB Minnesota Twins

Each year there seems to be one or two baseball players who catch the attention of the sports world and stir conversation about the hallowed .400 batting mark.

This year, that talk has centered around Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer, who is currently hitting .363. History tells us that he’ll likely fall short – it’s arguably the most difficult record in sports to break.

The last player to hit .400 was the  great Ted Williams, who achieved the feat in 1941. Williams entered the last day of the season with a batting average of .39955, which would have been rounded up to .400, making him the first man to hit .400 since Bill Terry in 1930.

Manager Joe Cronin gave Williams the option of not playing, but Williams opted to play in both of the day’s doubleheaders. Said Williams, “If I can’t hit .400 all the way, I don’t deserve it.” Williams went 6-8 and finished the season with a .406 average.

Players have flirted with .400 over the years but have always fallen short. Hall of Famer George Brett was hitting .394 on September 21, 1980, but ended the season with a .390 average. Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn was batting .394 in 1994 when the season ended because of a labor dispute, wiping out the World Series and a chance for history. This decade, Todd Helton and Chipper Jones got people talking about the .400 mark before both cooled off.

Below is a list of the batting champions since 2000…

It will be interesting to see how Mauer fares over the next couple of weeks, but one thing is for certain – he has all the tools to go down in history as one of the greatest catchers ever. Not only is he a strong defensive catcher, but his hitting ability is unusual for a catcher. He’s won two of the last three American League batting titles. When Mauer won the title in 2006, he became the first American League catcher ever  to win it and the first catcher since the National League’s Ernie Lombardi won it in 1947. Mike Piazza had the best offensive season for a catcher ever in 1997 with a .362 average and Mauer may very well eclipse that.

It’s amazing to think that the best players in the game are only hitting safely in a little over 3 out of every 10 trips to the plate. That says a lot about just how difficult it is to hit a baseball.

If you would like to find out how to hire Joe Mauer for a speaking engagement, appearance, endorsement, autograph signing or special event, request Joe Mauer booking agent information from PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency. PFP is speakers bureau and top celebrity booking agent for sports speakers, athletes appearances, entertainers and celebrities.

Last night cancer survivor, Barbara Padilla, sang Ave Maria and blew the audience and judges away receiving a standing ovation.

“Wow! Amazing!” said Nick Cannon. Piers Morgan called her a superstar.

Barbara will definitely be in the final five. She and Kevin Skinner are the odds on favorite to win the competition.

Watch Barbara Padilla sing Ave Maria

Curt Schilling

Retired baseball star Curt Schilling announced last week that he’s potentially interested in filling the seat vacated by the death of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. Schilling has a keen interest in politics – he campaigned for President Bush, rallied voters for former presidential candidate Jon McCain and told Boston radio station WRKO in 2007 that running for office is “something my wife and I have talked about a couple of times.”

It would interesting to see how Schilling would fare should he decide to run. He’s achieved folk hero status in New England for the way he pitched with an injured ankle in the 2004 World Series. But whether that popularity would carry over in a state that takes politics very seriously remains to be seen.

Athletes turning to politics after their playing careers isn’t anything new. Some have fared better than others. A few examples…

• NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent, a seven-time Pro Bowler who held most major NFL receiving records when he retired in 1989. Largent served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1994 until 2002 and unsuccessfully ran for Oklahoma governor in 2002.
• NBA Hall of Famer Bill Bradley. During his career, Bradley won two NBA titles with the New York Knicks and was also a three-time All-American at Princeton, where he was named the 1965 National Player the Year. Bradley served in the U.S. Senate for 18 years beginning in 1978. In 2000, the New Jersey senator unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.
• Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne. The legendary coach, who led Nebraska to three National Championships and retired with a record of 255-49-3, was elected to Congress in 2000 and served six years in the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska’s 3rd congressional district. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1996, a defeat which surprised quite a few people given Osborne’s tremendous popularity throughout Nebraska.
• NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann, who was a key member of the three-time Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970’s. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and was named MVP of Super Bowl X. In 2006, Swann unsuccessfully ran for Pennsylvania governor, losing to incumbent Ed Rendell by a 60-40 margin.
• MLB Hall of Famer Jim Bunning, a 9-time All-Star who threw a perfect game in 1964. Bunning served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987  – 1999. He then moved over to the Senate, where he is currently the sixth oldest U.S. Senator. He recently announced he will not seek re-election.
• Former quarterback Jack Kemp, who led the Buffalo Bills to the two AFL titles in the 1964 and 1965. Kemp was a member of Congress from 1971 – 1989, was Bob Dole’s running mate in the 1996 presidential election and unsuccessfully ran for president in 1988.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Schilling, but I’m really looking forward to 2014, when NBA great Charles Barkley plans to run for governor in Alabama. If nothing else, I’m sure he’ll provide some interesting sound bites.

PFP is a top sports and celebrity booking agent for Curt Schilling, Steve Largent, Tom Osborne, Charles Barkley,  famous sports speakers, athlete appearances , political speakers and endorsements. For more information call 800.966.1380

Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders

I’m always amazed at the popularity of the Dallas Cowboys and their players. I book sports celebrities across the country and no team except maybe baseball’s New York Yankees even come close to matching the popularity of the Cowboys.

The Cowboys popularity isn’t just confined to Texas. It’s true they are the most popular team in every corner of the state, but their popularity extends across the country. They earned the nickname “America’s Team” for good reason. Ask football fans in Richmond, VA who their favorite team is and they’re just as likely to say the Cowboys as the Redskins.

I recently spoke with Hall of Famer Randy White, who’s success with the Cowboys has translated into a nice post-football career making appearances, endorsements, etc. I joked with Randy how fortunate he should feel that he was drafted by the Cowboys and not a less popular team like the Lions. He agreed.

I book more former Cowboys for events than any other football team. Want to drive traffic and create excitement around your event? You can’t go wrong with a Cowboys player. A few examples of recently bookings…

• Drew Pearson made an appearance at a casino in Arizona
• Ed “Too Tall” Jones made an appearance at a Super Bowl party in New Mexico
• Tony Dorsett appeared at a corporate event in Las Vegas
• Roger Staubach spoke an annual meeting in Arkansas
• Jay Novacek appeared at a store grand opening in Virginia

So why the popularity? It began in the 1970’s with Roger Staubach, Tom Landry and the cheerleaders. Everything in Texas is big and the Cowboys attained a larger-than-life status. They always seemed to be on tv and the team’s success with a victory in Super Bowl XII helped them gain legions of new fans .

The Cowboys struggled a bit in the 1980’s but its three Super Bowl victories in the 1990’s helped reclaim its status as America’s Team . They were their own reality show – a good-looking quarterback in Troy Aikman, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher in Emmitt Smith, a character in Michael Irvin and an ego maniac in Jerry Jones.

No NFL team receives the same amount of attention as the Cowboys. The media loves controversy and sensationalism and the Cowboys are full of both. Last year, ESPN jumped on the bandwagon by assigning one its reporters to cover the Cowboys full-time. With Terrell Owens running his mouth off, Tony Romo dating Jessica Simpson and Jerry Jones still prowling the sidelines, the team was must-see tv.

This season may be a bit more boring with T.O. gone and Jessica Simpson out of the picture, but there’s no doubt the team will continue to be popular and make front-page headlines.

Of course I shouldn’t fail to mention that the visually appealing Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders may be a contributing factor as well.

Acrodunk perform on Amerixa's Got Talent Semi Finals

Acrodunk performed last night on the semi finals of America’s Got Talent. They have been compared to the legendary Harlem Globetrotters only with a new twist.  Their tumbling ability, amazing acrobatics, jumping through fire and dunking basketballs could win them a coveted spot in the finals.

Piers commented, “Absolutely unbeievable. I can’t believe I just watched that. That has to be one of the most thrilling, exciting, dynamic, dangerous things I’ve ever seen on this show.”

Watch Acrodunk Semi AGT Finals Video

PFP is a top celebrity booking agent for American Idols, entertainers, sports stars and celebrities.

Kevin Skinner on America's Got Talent Semi Finals

Kevin Skinner competed in last night’s Semi Finals of America’s Got Talent, dedicating Willie Nelson’s version of Always on My Mind to his father.

Kevin Skinner is the type of story Americas loves. A natural born singer, a chicken catcher, who finds himself in front of millions singing from the heart with a chance to win $1M dollars and to headline Las Vegas.

Every song Kevin sings is heartfelt and emotional, completely raw and sung from the soul.

After Kevin’s performance, Piers Morgan gave Kevin a standing ovation.

Piers said. “You have an ability to move an audience in a way I have never seen on this show before. You sing from your heart, your soul, with real raw emotion and it is impossible to remember sometimes that you’re a chicken farmer from Kentucky who’s never sung on this kind of stage. Let me tell you after that, you are my favorite to win this whole competition!”

Watch video

PFP is a top celebrity booking agent for American Idols, entertainers, sports stars and celebrities.