Raptors G Vince Carter is the "most compelling new
superstar on the Canadian sports horizon," according to
Robert MacLeod of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, who examines the
marketability of the NBA rookie. Carter has a five-year
endorsement deal with Puma, and the company's Basketball
Manager Don Gibadlo said Carter is "very selfless and it's
cool. We've been very impressed by the kid." MacLeod calls
Carter a "perfect fit" for Puma, which was looking for a
"young athlete with an unsullied reputation." One of
Carter's business associates said, "Vince has a clean-cut
way and his involvement with children is all helping to
change the negative image of the NBA basketball players."
Bill Shelton, Dir of Marketing for SC-based PMI Sports
Marketing, which represents Carter, said that he has met
with some of the Raptors' corporate partners, and added, "I
think probably before the year is finished we'll have some
rather substantial endorsement agreements with some of the
Raptors' corporate sponsors and non-corporate sponsors."
But Shelton "doesn't want to overdo things" for Carter: "We
can't inundate him, at least at the beginning." Carter, on
all the attention: "I'm kind of a laid-back person. I'm a
big video-game freak. I listen to a lot of music, talk on
the phone with friends" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 5/7).
