Value in Images of Non-Athletes

Bill Bradley in his professional photo when he ran for office.

This article relates to my American Sport in the 21st Century class when we discussed the topic of sports and politics on October 3rd, 2013. We talked about how many former star athletes once retired have tried and succeeded in getting voted into office. A few mentioned were J.C. Watts (Oklahoma Sooner Football Coach), Lynn Swann (Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver), Bill Bradley (New York Knicks Guard), Jesse Ventura (WWE Wrestler), Steve Largent (Seattle Seahawks), and Tom Osbourne (Nebraska Head Football Coach). My personal opinion is that with all the fame and fortune of any professional athlete they have an upper advantage just because most people have heard of them and their popularity gets them in the door. Whether they were star athletes or third string in the pros, I believe they still have an advantage, mainly because of their networks and connections. As we talked about in class many former athletes use their athletic successes as a spring board for them to be elected into office, known as a Q ratio. In Coakley's text on page 448 he gives examples and talks about the involvement, "Other former athletes and coaches have been elected to state legislatures and to the U.S. Congress and Senate by using their status from sports and their sport personas to increase their legitimacy as "tough," "hard-working," and "loyal" candidates who are "decisive under pressure" and "dedicated to being winners."(Coakley 2010 p.448). In this article the main idea is that retired non-star athletes are still making moves to better themselves. In Coakley's text he gave an example of how Arnold Schwarzenegger used his fame to become the celebrity governor of California, even though people say he was never an athlete. In the article former NFL athletes are trying to group together to market themselves which has failed in the past. Marketing agency IMG and two other agencies are on board however and think this will be successful this time around.

Bill Bradley, former NBA New York Knicks Guard pulling up for a jump shot. 

 

 

 

Lynn Swann, former NFL Wide Receiver of the Pittsburgh Steelers

 

This article called Key to Settlement: How much value in images of non-stars? is featured in the Sports Business Journal published on August 19th, 2013 on page 7, written by Daniel Kaplan. "Is there a market for retired NFL players? Certainly there’s one for individual stars like Joe Montana or Roger Staubach, but what about for those not considered legends of the game? The answer could go a long way to deciding whether the pending legal settlement in the Dryer v. NFL case is a boon to former players. “We believe that it is a pretty big opportunity in the marketplace,” said Wesley Haynes, senior vice president of licensing at IMG, which will handle the new licensing agency created by the federal court supervised settlement. That agency will try to market former players as a group. Haynes pointed out that many former players remain popular in the markets where they starred
 as collegians, something that meshes with IMG’s robust college licensing business. Several entities have tried group-licensing work with retirees, including NFL Alumni and the NFL Players Association, but with little success. “The NFL Alumni licensing program went on for years closely supported by the NFL and that didn’t work,” said Bob Stein, a lawyer for the case’s six original plaintiffs, who oppose the settlement. NFL Alumni is a league-backed retirees group. Most former players are only valuable as part of their use in NFL Films, Stein contended, and not to corporate America. Stein’s client Fred Dryer, the principally named plaintiff in the case, blasted the agency as a sham designed to distract from what he says is the real issue: that players are not getting paid for their use in NFL Films. Whether former players who take part in the settlement will see benefits from the licensing agency, which will have to find companies willing to pay a group of retirees for their commercial rights, is unclear. The potential, however, was enough of a lure that three marketing agencies, including IMG and Insignia Sports & Entertainment, bid on the business. The identity of the third agency could not be determined. Haynes said IMG will have a dedicated staff for this new business line. “We have talked to a number of the prospective licensees,” Haynes said, “and we know there is interest there.”" You can follow this link to the article: Value in Non-Athletes

Lynn Swann showcasing his abilities in the National Football League.