Tennis sister gets $40M for endorsement.Venus Williams Venus Ebone Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980 in Lynwood, California) is an American professional tennis player. She has been ranked the world's No. 1 female tennis player. As of July 2007, she is the reigning Wimbledon ladies' singles champion. makes history with Reebok Ree´bok` n. 1. (Zool.) The peele. deal extension Tennis superstar Venus Williams signed the most lucrative endorsement deal ever for a female athlete in December when she agreed to a multiyear contract extension with Canton, Massachusetts-based Reebok International Ltd. "This is an important precedent for women's sports that announces a new era in the corporate valuing of the female athlete," says Donna Lopiano Dr. Donna Lopiano (born September 11, 1946) is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation and was recently named one of “The 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports” by Fox Sports. , executive director, Women's Sports Foundation The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) "is a charitable educational organization dedicated to ensuring equal access to participation and leadership opportunities for all girls and women in sports and fitness. . Reebok would not confirm the figure, but the three-year deal is reportedly worth at least $40 million. Williams' contract with Reebok compares to Tiger Woods' $100 million Nike deal and Vince Carter's $30 million contract with Nike. "The Venus deal is huge on any front, and comes at a time when many shoe companies have cut back on endorsement deals with athletes as a whole," says former Reebok Northeast Regional Marketing Manager Dawn-Marie Gray, now president of Washington, D.C.-based a.que.dawn L.L.C., a sports marketing Sport marketing (or "sports marketing" in the US) (1) the specific application of marketing principles and processes to sport products (e.g., teams, leagues, events, etc.) and (2) the the marketing of non-sports products (e.g., cigarettes, beer, long-distance phone service, etc. firm with such clients as NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= star Allen Iverson. The Venus campaign, which was launched on Super Bowl Sunday as part of Reebok's Defy Convention campaign, will include television and print ads, retail marketing programs, Reebok events, and various public appearances. "Reebok will also utilize Venus' passion for fashion design; she will co-design signature apparel and footwear collections for the 2002 tennis season" says Denise Kaigler, company director of global communications. |
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