FORBES' Kurt Badenhausen reported the "business of MICHAEL JORDAN has never been better." Forbes estimated that the Bobcats Owner "earned $60 million over the past year mainly through his endorsement deals with Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, Upper Deck, 2K Sports and Five Star Fragrances." Jordan also "owns five restaurants and a car dealership in North Carolina." Jordan's annual earnings "are greater than any other sports figure save TIGER WOODS who topped" Forbes' highest-paid athletes list this year. When it comes to "Jordan's annual earnings, Nike is his meal ticket and why his endorsement earnings are now higher than when he played." Jordan has a Nielsen/E-Poll N-score of "682, nearly 300 points higher than any other sports figure" (FORBES.com, 9/22).
BACK TO CAMPUS: IMG Sports & Entertainment President GEORGE PYNE said college sports was a “growth segment” and consisted of an “incredible demographic” which ultimately led IMG to be able to negotiate sponsorship deals for a company with numerous schools, not just individual institutions. College sports “had this enormous base of fans ... and really very low sponsor penetration so for us we saw a real opportunity to enhance the business.” With the UPS deal with 70 colleges across the country “is a game-changer because we created a new platform. We’re offering advertisers and sponsors the opportunity to reach out to consumers in 49 of the top 50 markets in America … with one buy” ("SportsMoney," YES Network, 9/22).
BASEBALL BEFORE BUSINESS: In Michigan, Jonathan Oosting reported Gov. RICK SNYDER and Wayne County Exec ROBERT FICANO are "pitching business opportunities to officials in Asia this week." Snyder said that he "is giving away Tigers division championship hats before getting down to the business of generating business for his state" (MLIVE.com, 9/26).
A NEW ISLAND GREEN: ESPN Chicago's Matt Lo Cascio noted '12 Ryder Cup captains DAVIS LOVE III and JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL yesterday hit golf balls from the 16th floor of Trump Tower in downtown Chicago. They "stood in a makeshift teebox on a patio and took aim 220 yards away at a custom-built, floating green on a 35-foot by 75-foot barge in the Chicago River." After the charity event, "Love and Olazabal were on their way to U.S. Cellular Field to throw out the first pitch" at the Blue Jays-White Sox game (ESPNCHICAGO.com, 9/26).
FRUGAL ADVICE: CFL Argonauts President & CEO BOB NICHOLSON said the best financial advice he ever received was, "'If you don’t have it, don’t spend it!' This philosophy helped me develop an ability to ‘save,’ even early in my career when they pay cheques were much smaller.” Nicholson also said, “I don’t like to carry a lot of cash and therefore prefer to pay for most purchases with a credit card. However, I track all my expenses and have never failed to fully pay the monthly outstanding balance” (MONEYVILLE.ca, 9/24).
NAMES: The new film “FROM THE ROUGH,” which tells the story of the “first African American woman to coach a NCAA Division I men’s golf team,” will air a screening at the Black Film Festival in Nashville on Oct. 5. The story highlights former Tennessee State Univ. men’s golf coach CATANA STARKS (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 9/26)….Menswear magazine gave Patriots QB TOM BRADY an “A-minus” this month for his “off-the-field look.” Brady scored higher than Jets QB MARK SANCHEZ and Panthers QB CAM NEWTON (BOSTON HERALD, 9/26).
