Melanie Oudin Signs Multi-Year Deal With BackOffice Associates

By Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Melanie Oudin (l) Signs Endorsement Deal With BackOffice Associates

Melanie Oudin may have lost in the U.S. Open quarterfinals last night, but she scored the biggest endorsement of her career with BackOffice Associates, a data mining firm. She signed the deal 20 minutes before her night match in the Arthur Ashe Stadium suite of her agency, BEST, with the co-CEOs of the company, Patrick and Patricia Kennedy. The multi-year deal is believed to be for a six-figure sum guaranteed annually with bonuses for performance. The deal was negotiated by Sam Duvall, her agent with BEST, who said BackOffice got in touch with him after Oudin began to make her Cinderella run through the tourney. Duvall was speaking from the plaza outside the stadium. He was not inside because his agency also represents the victor in the match, Caroline Wozniacki, so he did not want to appear in either player's seating section. The logo of BackOffice is on Oudin's apparel bag. Her deal with adidas, which expires next year, prohibits patches, so she could not wear BackOffice’s logo.

TIME FOR ROOM SERVICE: Duvall has also been receiving phone calls from hotel chains interested in working with Oudin. The 17-year-old’s reservation with the Marriott Marquis ended Monday, and the hotel said there were no rooms available for her, Duvall said. She moved to the Intercontinental. News of the development, which was first reported by SportsBusiness Daily and SportsBusiness Journal, spread quickly. Duvall said one of his colleagues has heard from a Marriott exec, who apologized but said because the reservation was under the name of her coach, the hotel did not realize who she was.