German driver Nico Rosberg "climbed the podium to receive a first Formula 1 world championship, and his earnings are about to get a leg-up too," according to Bill Wilson of the BBC. He is also poised to "take advantage on the sponsor and endorsements front." Sports sponsorship expert Nigel Currie said, "Winning the world championship will help catapult him into a new earnings bracket. When you win the world championship your commercial bargaining power soars compared with being just another driver." This summer, Rosberg was listed 98th in Forbes' index of the world's 100 richest sports people, with estimated total annual earnings of $21M. But only $1M of those earnings "came from endorsements," compared with the $4M his Mercedes teammate and rival Lewis Hamilton made from his sponsorship deals. According to his managers, Rosberg has "chosen so far to focus on some extra sponsorship participation with Mercedes' own list of brand partners." Currie: "What F1 teams do with the drivers, until they become so dominant that they can write their own checks and sign their own deals, is that they tie them into the team sponsors. That is why a Formula 1 championship is so important. It is like winning one of the four golf majors, or a Grand Slam tournament in tennis. You then have that on your CV, and can start negotiating your terms." Former Jordan, Spyker, and Force India exec Ian Phillips said that "Rosberg's low commercial profile to date is not accidental." Phillips: "He is very handsomely paid by Mercedes, and if you take on extra commercial activities it takes up your precious time. I am a firm believer that you are better to concentrate on your main job, in what is a very short career" (BBC, 11/27).
