Nuggets’ Najera Among Most Marketable Int’l NBA Players
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Najera One Of NBA’s Most
Marketable Int’l Players
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Nuggets F Eduardo Najera, the only NBA player from Mexico, is in the “top
tier when it comes to marketing appeal” among the NBA’s int’l
players, according to James Paton of the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. With at least eight
endorsement deals, he “sits in an elite class with high-profile names”
such as Rockets C Yao Ming and Spurs G Tony Parker and G Manu Ginobili. Najera,
who earns “about $1.5[M] this year from his business arrangements,”
has deals with Corona, Gatorade, adidas, Telcel, Wonder Bread and Stanford Financial
Group. He has deals in Colorado with Qwest and FirstBank. Roberto Gonzales, Najera’s
manager, notes Najera is in talks with Western Union and PepsiCo. Denver-based
Playing Field Promotions’ Jonathan Wexler said one reason why Najera is
appealing to companies trying to market to Mexicans is that they “don’t
have a lot of choices.” Gatorade Mexico Dir of Marketing Hector Huerta said,
“Mexican consumers are looking for something relevant. Eduardo was a key.”
NBA VP/Marketing Partnerships Emilio Collins indicated that 57 of the 83 int’l
players in the league have 108 endorsement deals, which is “double the number
of marketing agreements seen just four years ago.”
LEAGUE OF HIS OWN: Paton noted Najera “wants to own a basketball
team in his home state” of Chihuahua, Mexico. Gonzales said that Najera
is “part of a plan with broadcaster TV Azteca and several other investors,”
including Mexican soccer club Chivas, to launch a pro basketball league in Mexico.
Other soccer franchises have also “signaled their desire to be a part of
the venture” (ROCKY
MOUNTAIN NEWS, 4/21).
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