Marketplace Roundup

McFadden Signs Endorsement Deal With Donruss/Playoff

Trading card manufacturer Donruss/Playoff Thursday announced that it has signed Raiders RB Darren McFadden to an endorsement deal through which McFadden's image will appear on the company's packaging throughout the year. He also will sign autographs at promotional events. McFadden took part in the Donruss Rookie Trading Card Photo Shoot in L.A. last weekend (Donruss).

TRUE PATRIOTI$M: USA Basketball will announce its roster for the Beijing Games Monday, and Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti said, "I'd love to believe in patriotism and that these athletes all care about their country. You know it's about shoe companies and endorsements and money and yes, being on that ... team. That’s what these guys care about." ESPN's J.A. Adande: "A lot of it is about the marketing. It's part of LeBron James' attempt to expand his brand into China. He’s got a whole marketing campaign centered around him being there in China" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 6/19).

SPEAKING OF LEBRON...: In  a Q&A with the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER's Mary Schmitt Boyer, James said of the deal for the Univ. of Akron men's basketball team to wear his Nike LJ23 apparel beginning next season, "Coach (Keith) Dambrot is a very, very, very close friend of mine. He definitely helped me get to the level I'm at right now. So I'm showing my appreciation" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 6/19).

NOTES: The ATP Tour and South African Airways (SAA) have inked a three-and-a-half-year, $20M extension of their deal making SAA the official airline partner of the ATP through 2012. SAA under the deal will continue to sponsor several of the tour's int'l tournaments (ATP)....Nike Thursday said that it will "replace its Niketown in downtown Portland with a new retail store opening in spring 2011." Nike added that the two-story store will "occupy 14,000-square feet in the 33-story Park Avenue West Tower currently under construction" (OREGONLIVE.com, 6/19)....Sprecher Brewing Company will serve as the official premium beer of the Milwaukee Mile for this weekend’s NASCAR events and for the remainder of the ’08 race season (Milwaukee Mile)