Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong "appears to be
rising" from what his agent Bill Stapleton "calls 'the
clutter' of mere stars to superstardom," according to Samuel
Abt of the N.Y. TIMES. Stapleton: "That level has less to
do about money, annual endorsement fees, than becoming a
household name. That level is Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods,
Wayne Gretzky. Lance is joining them." Abt wrote that
Armstrong earns "in the range of" $5-7.5M per year in
endorsements, a "realm that [Stapleton] explained was
occupied by the top 20 to 25 athletes." But Armstrong, "at
least publicly, ... scoffs" at comparisons to endorsers such
as Jordan, Woods and Gretzky. Armstrong: "I'm not a
superstar, I'm a regular guy" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/23). COX NEWS'
Sheryll Poe wrote that by winning his second consecutive
Tour de France, Armstrong has "become an even more powerful
marketing machine." Burns Sports President Bob Williams
said Armstrong has "been a very hot name in sports over the
past year, and this will continue to keep him on the hot
list for another year. There aren't many athletes that can
charge six figures for a speech. For appearances, he's at
the top of the list." But NY-based Platinum Rye
Entertainment President Ryan Schinman calls Armstrong "a B-
level marketer, recognized in his sport, but below the Jack
Nicholases, Mark McGwires, Ken Griffeys or Kobe Bryants. ...
He's not going to take a product over the top. Even if he
won five Tour de Frances in a row, he still wouldn't be in
the upper echelon of spokespeople" (COX NEWS, 7/22).
CELLULOID HERO: In Dallas, Andrew Hood reports that
while there is "still talk" of a movie on Armstrong,
Stapleton said, "We want a major motion picture deal or
nothing. We see a budget of at least $20 million to $30
million, plus what Armstrong would take, which is well over
$1 million. Otherwise the quality would not be what we
want." Stapleton added that Mark Wahlberg has "shown
interest" in playing Armstrong (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/24).
Meanwhile, in N.Y., Liz Smith wrote, "Bravo!" to Armstrong
for "turning down all those millions of dollars in TV
endorsements to support" the SAG/AFTRA strike. Smith, on
Armstrong's stance: "That takes guts" (N.Y. POST, 7/23).
Armstrong is on the cover of this week's SI (THE DAILY).
