Neymar’s endorsement earnings already outweigh that of his contract from Barcelona. He’s got the hair, the flair and is electric with the ball 24-year old Neymar is likely to replace Messi and Ronaldo as the greatest soccer player in the world. Notable Endorsement Deals: Unilever | Konami | Nike | Red Bull | Volkswagen | Gillette | Panasonic Opendorse Estimated Cost Per Tweet: $128,278 Neymar | La Liga | Futbol Club Barcelona Yearly Endorsement Earnings: $23,000,000 Nike capitalized on Kobe’s final season with a variety of compelling TV ads like this, this and this. Throughout Bryant’s career, he has agreed to signature shoe deals with both Nike and Adidas, with Nike as his current deal. The firm’s first investment was in 2014, purchasing over 10% of up-and-coming sports drink company, BodyArmour, which Bryant has not been shy in promoting. His final season, a farewell tour of sorts, hardly resembled his 19 seasons before it but still held impressive marketing power. Brands flocked as the sports world paid homage to one of the basketball’s top talent. Bryant’s post-basketball business venture, an investment company called Kobe Inc., appears to be in great shape. Notable Endorsement Deals: BODYARMOR | Hublot | Nike | Panini Opendorse Estimated Cost Per Tweet: $56,802
This spring McIlroy appeared in another commercial for Nike, further cementing his image and as the brand’s future on the links and one of the most marketable players on Tour. Pretty good company for who Nike hopes will be golf’s next big thing. The other two? Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. He is one of just three players to win three majors by the age of 25. Open, the 2012 PGA Championship, the 2014 Open Championship, and the 2014 PGA Championship. While Jordan Spieth may have something to say about that, Rory is a mainstay in the PGA Tour Ranking’s Top-5. Since his infamous final-round collapse at the 2011 Masters, Rory put together an impressive run, winning the 2011 U.S.
Essentially, Nike was betting that Rory would be the predecessor to Tiger Woods as golf’s next transcendent star.
In 2013, Nike bet big on Rory McIlroy with a 10-year deal worth $250 million. Notable Endorsement Deals: Nike | Bose | EA Sports | Omega | Upper Deck Opendorse Estimated Cost Per Tweet: $16,269 James has acted as the face of campaigns for many of these brands, but isn’t limiting his time on camera to commercials - He starred in a supporting role alongside Amy Schumer and Bill Haider in the film Trainwreck last summer and is set to star in the highly anticipated Space Jam 2. His endorsement portfolio is a who’s who of major brands, including Nike, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Beats by Dre, and more.
He made headlines in the sponsorship world earlier this year when he signed a lifetime deal with Nike, rumored to be worth over $1 billion. With ambitions to become the first billionaire athlete, LeBron’s endorsement earnings dwarf that of his $23.2 million per year salary (this has potential to balloon in conjunction with the NBA salary cap jump). Notable Endorsement Deals: Beats by Dre | Coca-Cola | Kia | McDonald’s | Samsung | NikeĪfter earning his third championship and Finals MVP, LeBron made it clear that he’s still at the top of his game in 2016 and brands agree. Opendorse Estimated Cost Per Tweet: $185,328