Yankees SS Derek Jeter "isn't going to disappear from public life" following his retirement at the conclusion of the '14 MLB season, as he is "likely to be all over television, on billboards and on radio, pitching for his corporate partners and promoting his new and expanding stable of business ventures," according to Barbarisi & Vranica of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Jeter is "one of the most powerful endorsement figures in sports, and sports-marketing experts don't expect his endorsement worthiness to dry up after he retires." Optimum Sports Managing Dir Tom McGovern said, "Jeter is seen as the ultimate role model -- nothing you can really point to that is wrong with him. Even a Red Sox fan couldn't really dislike him." Data from The Marketing Arm shows that roughly 75% of U.S. consumers "are aware" of Jeter. Suspended Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez is "the only better known MLB player, with about 80%." Jeter "reels in" $9-10M in endorsement deals annually. Sources said that Jeter expects to "continue his relationships with the majority of his longtime corporate partners, though the way he is used in their ads will likely change -- he might be presented less as an athlete and more as an icon, pointing to qualities such as longevity and stability." The expectation from Jeter's camp is that he "will expand his ownership interests, becoming more active in his current partner companies and buying into new organizations" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/19).
ON SABBATICAL: The AP's Ronald Blum reported Rodriguez jerseys "are nowhere to be found" at the Legends Room store at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, where the club holds Spring Training. Eight players "were represented with white, pinstriped jerseys hanging neatly on rods attached to a wall and available for $139.95 apiece Tuesday." The store "had the names and numbers" of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and Masahiro Tanaka. The Yankees said that Rodriguez' jersey "had not been available there for several years" (AP, 2/18).
