The "surging careers" of Venus and Serena Williams
"will make the price tags of their endorsement deals
escalate," according to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES,
who notes that with Venus Williams' five-year, $14M deal
with Reebok "expiring" in April, the "cost of keeping her
concerns the company." Reebok Dir of PR Dave Fogelson:
"She's a key person for us, on par with Allen Iverson.
We're looking at making her an overall brand icon in the
fitness category. She's in our plans, but we can't break
the bank." Burns Sports President Bob Williams, on the
Williams sisters: "Up until now there's been more demand for
them to be together, but that will change as their careers
start to diverge. There's great potential for them to
develop a rivalry." Meanwhile, CBS Sports VP Rob Correa
said of their media impact, "Without a doubt, Venus and
Serena have the ability to attract the casual tennis fan and
people who don't watch tennis because of their larger-than-
life personas." Correa adds that few tennis events are on
network TV so their impact "will be somewhat muted."
Correa: "Tiger can be on network TV every Saturday and
Sunday, which isn't true with tennis" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/14).
