“We don’t know half of the people on the list!” »
“Virat Kohli should be at worst number three.”
“No, Iga Swiatek??? What joke !!!
This is just a sample of some of the (more acceptable) social media reactions to this year’s list of the 50 most marketable athletes in the world, who saw Lionel Messi tops the rankings for a second time.
Whether you agree with the list or not, 50MM is still an emotional topic. Many die-hard fans wonder why their favorite athlete didn’t make the cut, what makes Athlete A more marketable than Athlete B, and how the ranking can be justified.
The answers to many of these questions, however, can be found in NorthStar Solutions Group Methodology. So SportsPro is here to pick out some of the hottest names not included in 50MM and answer the important question: why?
Kohli crashes
He’s probably the athlete that SportsPro has answered the most questions about. The man many still consider the face of Indian cricket was one of the biggest losers on the list, falling from seventh in the 2022 rankings to 57th this year.
The simplest explanation is that Kohli ranked 110th in the Total Addressable Market (TAM) rating pillar, which will have had a huge impact on his final ranking as NorthStar’s methodology gives the highest weighting (45%). ) to an athlete’s TAM. In particular, Kohli was disappointed with his viewership score, which was 122nd out of the 125 athletes who qualified for the final evaluation stage.
This may seem surprising for a man who has 260 million followers on Instagram and another 58.3 million on Twitter, but NorthStar’s definition of audience is not limited to the size of an athlete’s followers; this also explains the diversity of these followers, including the number of countries, ethnicities and age groups that make them up. NorthStar therefore felt that Kohli’s audience was not as diverse as some of those who made it to the top 50.
Additionally, while Kohli may have a rich endorsement portfolio, his low score in the Sponsor Awareness Engine suggests that the majority of his sponsors are not world-renowned companies that can help him grow his brand personal.
From a purely sporting point of view, it is worth noting that Kohli is delisted after relinquishing the captaincy of the Indian cricket team. World Cup captain Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, who have led India in one-day formats for the past 12 months, both rank above their teammate in this year’s 50MM, which might suggest that leading arguably the most famous national team in world cricket offers a boost to an individual’s market value.
Ledecky plunges in the rankings
The biggest fall from last year’s list is American swimmer Katie Ledecky, who has been a regular at the 50MM, so her fall from 21st to 89th might come as a surprise.
Ledecky’s fall speaks to a common thread that connects several athletes who narrowly missed the top 50. The 26-year-old scored poorly for authenticity (27.87/54), was last ex- tied for purpose, mission and values, and was also rated lower for social ROI (18.33/42) and environmental ROO (11.67/30).
Perhaps more understandably, buzz about athlete trends and Ledecky’s sports awareness scores were low, a testament to swimming’s waning popularity outside of an Olympic year.
American swimmer Katie Ledecky was the biggest loser on last year’s list.
Alcaraz breaks through – but not in the top 50
The last 12 months have seen Carlos Alcaraz cement his status as the next big player in men’s tennis, but it hasn’t been enough to secure him a place in the 50MM. Despite a memorable five-set triumph against Novak Djokovic to win his first Wimbledon title, the Spaniard narrowly missed the list with a ranking of 55.
Alcaraz only made the top 50 of the ECON pillar, which illustrates not only the money he made on the field, but also the clamor of Nike, Louis Vuitton And Calvin Klein have done to sponsor a player tipped to dominate the sport for years to come.
His score for Athlete Brand Strength is not that favorable, however, suggesting that Alcaraz, who is only 20 years old, still has plenty of room to develop his personal brand and improve his score. relatively weak authenticity. Interestingly, her TAM score was lower than the six female tennis players included in 50MM, which could even be interpreted as a men’s tennis problem rather than an Alcaraz problem.
According to this list, Novak Djokovic is currently the 11th most marketable athlete.
The only man in the top 40 with Rafael Nadal at 41st.
I’m not sure I believe it, considering Carlos Alcaraz isn’t even in the top 50 while tons of WTA the players are. https://t.co/McN7U4I0gF
– 1995 (Jason’s version) (@Certinfy) October 17, 2023
It’s also worth pointing out that Alcaraz missed part of last year due to injury and his Wimbledon triumph came towards the end of the evaluation period, which ended on August 20, so the impact of this victory may have been limited.
Brittney’s point
One of the athletes making headlines over the past 12 months is Brittney Griner, whose return to the WNBA after being arrested in Russia helped lead the women’s basketball league to the title. the most watched game on cable for 24 years.
For some, that kind of attention, coupled with the growing market value of women’s sports, could have made her a compelling candidate for 50MM. And Griner ranks in the top ten for his TAM Momentum Score, which was introduced in this year’s methodology to take into account key storylines during the evaluation period and the impact that might have on an athlete’s audience. She is also third for social ROI, a testament to how she has used her newfound visibility to address social issues.
Despite this, Griner ranked last in the brand strength pillar, meaning she ranked as the 70th most marketable athlete this year. This illustrates that even if an athlete has a certain level of momentum behind them, it’s not always enough if their personal brand hasn’t been built over time.
Brittney Griner has used her platform to raise awareness about the plight of those who remain illegally detained abroad following her release from Russia.
Sho-Time is Sho-Stopped
“Most talented player in baseball history,” “Japanese Babe Ruth,” and “two-way virtuoso” are just a few phrases that have been used to describe Shohei Ohtani, but I’d wager he hadn’t been called the “104th most marketable athlete in the world” until earlier this week.
There’s a lot to like about Ohtani from a marketer’s perspective: he’s a cultural icon in Japan who makes hay in America, has a good reputation, and is already in conversations about who is the best player in baseball of a generation.
However, NorthStar’s Tom Malkin says Ohtani’s “major marketing bottleneck” comes from his lack of social media engagement. Among the social platforms assessed in the evaluation, the 29-year-old is only present on Instagram, which hinders his ability to interact with a wider audience, showcase his authenticity and express his commitment to social causes, which has an impact on one’s personality. overall marketability score.
In fact, everything MLB Players in the top 125 – none in the top 50 – struggled in terms of authenticity, audience reach and social ROI.
Interestingly, Ohtani has a low score among sports team awareness drivers, probably because he plays for the national team. Los Angeles Angels, who are often overshadowed by another team from the same city, the Dodgers. So, could a move for the soon-to-be free agent benefit his market value?
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