While Seahawks QB Russell Wilson will not be able to negotiate a new contract with the team until next year, "there is nothing stopping Wilson from cashing in off the field right now," according to Lindsay Jones of USA TODAY. As an "ascending 25-year-old Super Bowl winner with a squeaky-clean image, sports marketing experts predict Wilson is putting himself in position to be the new face of the NFL." Wilson's face is "on signage" inside Seattle-Tacoma Int'l Airport, and "not just for Alaska Airlines, but also in large ads for Bose, whose headphones are now the official speakers of the NFL." He has a local car deal endorsement with Mercedes and his American Family Insurance ads are in "frequent rotation." His national profile "is booming as well, with deals with Microsoft, Braun and Duracell." Among Wilson's newest sponsors is Austria-based bread company Eat the Ball, which "will be making a substantial push into the American market this winter with Wilson as a prime endorser." Mark Rodgers, Wilson's lawyer and marketing agent, "declined to give specific dollar figures for Wilson's off-field endeavors." However, Rodgers said that Wilson "'very competitive' with the upper echelon of NFL players when it comes to endorsement deals." Marketing Evaluations Exec VP Henry Schafer, whose company publishes Q Scores, said that Wilson "has positive appeal rating across men and women, sports fans and the general population alike, that rivals NFL stars" like Saints QB Drew Brees, Patriots QB Tom Brady, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and Giants QB Eli Manning. Meanwhile, NFL Players Inc. "will release news sales data next week," and in it, Wilson "is expected to be among the top three overall sellers in merchandise" (USA TODAY, 10/10).
: The most recent Horrow Sports Ventures/MVPindex Power 100 ranking of the world's most powerful pro athletes in the U.S. has Cavaliers F LeBron James at No. 1, with Wilson now ranked at No. 2 and Thunder F Kevin Durant at No. 3 (
Horrow Sports Ventures).
