WME-IMG's Josh Weil, who reps U.S. women's national team MF Carli Lloyd, said that his client "would like to work for Whole Foods," as she is "an organic-food nut," according to Claire Atkinson of the N.Y. POST. Weil: "If the CMO of Whole Foods calls, we’d get on the next flight to (the company’s headquarters in) Austin." United Entertainment Group Founder & CEO Jarrod Moses said that Lloyd could score endorsement deals "totaling between" $15-18M over the next two years "if she wants." That potential "stands in stark contrast to her earnings as a professional soccer player" for the NWSL Houston Dash. The NWSL "has an individual earnings cap of $37,800 per season." Lloyd is slated to be on the cover of the next SI issue and "could appear on 'Conan'" while in L.A. (N.Y. POST, 7/7).
JUST SELL IT: In New Jersey, Steve Popper reported N.Y.-based retailer Modell's Sporting Goods' inventory of Lloyd T-shirts "had sold out online before the stores even opened" yesterday (Bergen RECORD, 7/7). Modell's Dir of Integrated Marketing Kelly Harvey said, "We’re trying to get more product as we speak because the volume has been great." Harvey "declined to say exactly how many of the $30 T-shirts were bought online, but she did acknowledge it was well beyond expectations." In N.Y., Adrianne Pasquarelli reported the retailer's plan to "begin selling Nike-made Women’s World Cup Championship shirts on Wednesday has been rendered moot as there is no inventory left for its 151 brick-and-mortar stores." Nike’s "Strong Alone, Unstoppable Together" shirts "are still in stock, however" (CRAINSNEWYORK.com, 7/6). Meanwhile, WOMEN'S WEAR DAILY's Rosemary Feitelberg noted Nike, which has a personal deal with Lloyd and outfits the USWNT, "wasted no time reminding consumers" about the alliances. A "giant digital poster on display at West 34th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan was retooled less than an hour after Sunday’s victory to play up just that." The “American Women” short film that Nike "developed before the WWC" also was "reworked so that its parting shot now reads, 'Strong Alone. Champions Together'" (WWD.com, 7/6).
THE TIME IS NOW: AD AGE's E.J. Schultz wrote Lloyd "has a good chance of sustaining her name recognition" with the '16 Rio Olympics "just 13 months away." But Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing CEO & COO Bob Williams said women's soccer enters a "dead zone" when the Olympics are over, which means "the time to sign deals is really now" (ADAGE.com, 7/6). ADWEEK's Robert Klara wrote Lloyd's endorsement prospects "are solid for reasons that go beyond the win over Japan, spectacular as it was." In addition to "being a stellar performer, Lloyd is a highly likeable professional with a squeaky-clean reputation." But Lloyd cannot "just sit back and wait for the offers to roll in." L.A.-based agency Zambezi Founder & CEO Chris Raih said, "It's important to note that she's not only competing with other high-profile athletes, but competing against members of her own team" (ADWEEK.com, 7/6). Horrow Sports Ventures CEO Rick Horrow said of Lloyd, "She has what all corporate America is searching for -- humility, intelligence, a sense of drama and aggression to her game." USC Sports Business Institute Exec Dir David Carter said, "She's certainly more marketable than she was even 48 hours ago. But the World Cup is one of the periodic events and it's going to be up to her representatives to figure out how to maintain that after America gets back to baseball and starts to prepare for training camps of the National Football League" (REUTERS, 7/6).
TEXAS TOAST: Dash Managing Dir Brian Ching said, "Carli Lloyd is probably going to be the biggest soccer star we've ever had in Houston." Ching, a former player for the U.S. men's national team and the Dynamo, added, "She's bigger than myself, bigger than Brad Davis, bigger than any player that's been on a team here. That's the impact that she's going to have in the country and in our market. You look back and you think at how iconic Mia Hamm was. With the performance Carli put in winning the World Cup and being that player, she has the potential to be that next icon with Abby Wambach retiring." Meanwhile, in Houston, Jose de Jesus Ortiz reports the Astros have begun "discussing a potential date" for Lloyd and fellow USWNT and Dash players Meghan Klingenberg and Morgan Brian "to throw out ceremonial first pitches at Minute Maid Park" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/7).
