. BAUR sheave,

‘Basebal

‘From page 12

an unangetic Slug ona heckler’s
” mandibles, i it’s not surprising that
ball players don’t make it in the
Top 10.
s Quite apart from ability, its the
“good guy image that nails down the
‘ endorsement dollars, Controversy
is a no-no. And that's what makes
“TSML’s projected Top 10 for 1995
. More interesting than usual. |
. The top two are basketball
| superstars I Michael Jordan and
* Shaquille O’Neal who figure to
make $35 million and $14.5 mil-
\.lion respectively in commercial
‘-income this year. But the list came
out before the NBA's big stars,

including these two, led a revolt to

Teject a tentative agreement their
union had reached with the league.
Not only that, but with their.”
agents doing the Machiavelli bit...
they also are moving to have the
union decertified. And that, theo-
- retically, will result in bigger
°-wages for the big names at the
expense of the supporting casts .
(Also, of. course. more inoney for

: sigue has responded by
imposing a lockout and doing
something new. It's ‘Suing the

There’s a good chance there" I
» be no basketball this season + and
an.equally good chance that
because of the comroversy. Jordan
‘and O'Neal won't reach those pro-
ected numbers this year.: :
Certainly their corporate spon:

i pl

ayers

sors can’t be too happy. It's no

_ accident that the remiining eight in

the Top 10 are squeaky clean and
about as controversial as mother-
hood. ;
Who'd have thought two over-
the-hill golfers —- Jack Nicklaus
and Arnoid Palmer, at $13 miffion
and $12.6 million — would be
third and fourth? Jt helps to
endorse product lines of a game .
played by millions of duffers
around the world. It helps even

" more to be squeaky clean and
_always on good behavior.

Joe Montana, also over-the-hill
and now retired, will come in at
$12 million this year. Gentleman
Joe. No scandals or controversies
in his long career. No holdouts. no
fights over money. No tantrums. A
corporate sponsor's dream.

Next inline, Wayne Gretzky at
$8.8 million. the first-ever hockey
player to gain a truly national iden-
tity in the U.S. Quite aside from all
that ability, never a smudge on his
copy book. Always a gentleman.
Always the soul of modesty. Will
there ever be another hockey player
to make the Top 10 in the endorse-
ment league? Certainly, not anyone
currently in the NHL.

How did Nancy Kerrigan ever
tie with Steve Young for seventh
place at $4 million each? Being
under contract with Disney certain-
ly helps. But more important, the
worst thing in life to happen to her
— that crack on the knee with an
iron bar — turned out to be, com-
mercially at least, the best thing to
ever happen to her. «

shutout |

Young has both ability and per-
sonality. A devout Mormon, he ©. ‘
drinks nothing stronger than milk,
teaches Sunday school in the of &

_ season and gives liberally to chari-
ty. No CEO has to worry about the
49er pivot giving the company 4
bad name.

Hakeem Olajuwon, ai $3.8
million, and speedskatcr Bonnie
Blair. at $3.2 million, round out
the Top 10.

A couple things are self-evident.
Women aren’Cin the ballpark in the
merchandising league, largely
because there are fur fewer places
in pro sport for them to make a
name. Strange that their two most .,
publicized and best-earning sports -
— golf and tennis — haven't pro-
duced a Top 10 athlete since Chris

; Evert.

It may be some time in the next
century before another Canadian
breaks into the Top 10. And, like ~
Gretzky. the athlete will have to
move to the States and catch the
American imagination. because
that's where the money is.

Finally, a thought for the future.

If there’s no NBA season this

-fall, where will the basketball play-
ers be in neat year’s list’? And will
what the Americans so fondly
dubbed the Dream Team at the
Barcelona Olympics become the
Greed Team at next summer's
Auanta Olympics?

The definitive example, perhaps.

of the three greatest motivating |

“forces in pro sport today: over-
-whelming greed. uncommon greed
and just plain ordinary greed;

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