Stars & Strategies Founder Sue Rodin was profiled in
Sunday's N.Y. TIMES, and Carol Marie Cropper wrote that
Rodin "is now one of the few sports agents specializing in
representing women." Three of her nine clients -- Julie
Foudy, Carla Overbeck and Tiffany Roberts -- are members of
the U.S. women's team. Foudy signed with Rodin in '96 after
she considered going with a larger agency. But Foudy said,
"I think what I like [about] Sue is she is really committed
to women's sports. We didn't need to sell her on the idea
that this team was going to be big or that women's soccer
was going to be big." Rodin said the soccer players'
speaking fees have doubled since the WWC win, as Foudy now
earns $10,000 an appearance. Foudy recently signed a five-
figure deal with PepsiCo and Rodin "has rising hope" for a
donut deal for Foudy, saying, "She loves doughnuts" (N.Y.
TIMES, 7/26). The U.S. team hired John Langel, a partner in
the Philadelphia-based firm of Ballard, Spahr, Andrews &
Ingersoll, to handle contract and marketing issues. On the
"horizon" for the team is the 12-city "victory tour," a
memorabilia signing, as well as book and movie deals.
Langel, on the 12-city SFX-backed indoor tour: "We've
already generated a million dollars in sales and advertising
dollars. The interest is remarkable" (STAR-LEDGER, 7/25).
A GOOD READ: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY reports that the
women's team is "taking their time deciding how to proceed
with an authorized book." Three publishers -- Scholastic,
Archway and HarperCollins -- have "jumped into the game,"
with HarperCollins signing the N.Y. Times' Jere Longman to
write "The Girls of Summer," which will be released "in
time" for the 2000 Olympics (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, 7/30).
A WOMEN'S LEAGUE? MLS Fusion Operator Ken Horowitz said
he would like to play a role in a women's pro soccer league.
Horowitz: "I feel very strongly that if the economics work,
we'd want to do it in Fort Lauderdale. ... I've been talking
to people, and if this comes to pass, we plan to play a role
in it" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/25). Former National Soccer
Alliance (NSA) consultant Jennifer Rottenberg wrote a Letter
to the Editor in Sunday's N.Y. TIMES and Saturday's
WASHINGTON POST on the viability of a women's pro league.
Rottenberg detailed the NSA's bid to establish a women's pro
league and wrote, "While I remain convinced there is a place
for a women's professional league, I caution anyone who
looks to this summer's amazing attendance and television
numbers as indicators of what to expect for any forthcoming
league. A day-in, day-out professional league will have to
rely on the dedicated fans of the sport -- who averaged just
5,000 for women's national team games in the years leading
up to World Cup 1999" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/24).
