Names & Faces: Kobe Bryant Has Best-Selling Jersey In China

Lakers G Kobe Bryant’s No. 24 is the best-selling NBA jersey in China, followed by Nuggets G Allen Iverson, Rockets F Tracy McGrady, Heat G Dwyane Wade and Cavaliers F LeBron James. Rockets C Yao Ming ranks sixth, down from third last year. More than 400 million NBA products were sold in over 20,000 retail locations in the past year (NBA).

Many Feel Hamilton Is Next Int’l Marketing Superstar

NEW FACE: After black rookie F1 driver Lewis Hamilton placed third in his first race, the Australian Grand Prix, “even the most cautious could not help themselves forecasting that Hamilton will bring in more money in sponsorships, image rights and publishing deals than David Beckham — and go on to beat the $1[B] banked over his career by Michael Schumacher.” Karen Earl Sponsorship Dir Dominic Curran said Hamilton has “looks, poise, he is articulate and we cannot escape the fact that he is also the first black driver in [F1] and that alone will mean an enormous amount in the market place.” Vodafone’s deal to put its logos on Hamilton’s car is said to be worth $194.6M, and “instead of Beckham, it is Hamilton who will now be the face of Vodafone around the world” (LONDON TIMES, 3/19).

STRONG POSITION: In this week’s SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, Terry Lefton reports Capital Sports & Entertainment, which reps Lance Armstrong and co-owns the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, “is offering Armstrong’s name, likeness and a number of appearances with title sponsorship of the team. Since Armstrong receives around $200,000 an appearance, that’s not a bad deal.” While Discovery was paying about $5M a year for the sponsorship, the asking price in the new deal is $10M annually (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/19 issue).