Why Product Endorsement Deals Are So Important to Professional Athletes

Not all professional athletes make a lot of money such as those that participate in less traditional non revenue producing sports. In order to be able to be a professional athlete full time, many of these less popular athletes have to rely on the products and paychecks they receive from their sponsors and advertisers. Other athletes, that are in the limelight however, make a lot of money playing their sport and even more from their sponsorship deals. One of the first athletes to really do this was NBA player, Michael Jordan who used his basketball skills to promote several products as well as apparel, toys, products and even basketball videos with his name on them.

Wherever there is space to promote a sponsor, they will find a way to do it whether it is on the helmet of a professional NASCAR racer or in the form of a body tattoo to professional beach volleyball player Gabrielle Reece. Athletes are offered great package deals to promote a certain brand as a sort of spokesperson and in exchange they receive monetary and product compensation. For the lesser known athletes, this is very helpful to provide them with the extra income they need to be able to train full time. For other well paid athletes like professional baseball, basketball and football players it is just icing on the cake.

Michael Jordan was one of the first professional athletes to really be endorsed by various sponsors and he ended up making more from those endorsements than he did playing basketball. Certain businesses saw the total star power in Michael Jordan and knew he could make their product be noticed with him promoting it. One example was Gatorade which was a sports drink that had been around for quite a while but when they got Michael Jordan to endorse Gatorade, sales rose quickly and it became the top selling sports drink.

Now younger professional athletes that are making it to the big leagues see product endorsements as part of the package deal when they sign professionally. Many new athletes that are confident in themselves and their ability to sell items even hold out for multi million dollar contracts today. One example of that younger big time player is Le Bron James. He made it into the headlines for his basketball abilities saying he was the next Jordan when he was just a sophomore in high school playing in Akron, Ohio. Now he is one the biggest paid athletes with multiple endorsements.

The largest grossing professional athlete to receive the largest amount of endorsement deals in history is golfer, Tiger Woods. As an individual athlete, he is not paid by salary but rather by performance and how many big golf tournaments he wins. Because he has been such a high profile, successful and marketable player, his endorsements deals are earning him several million each year on top of his golf earnings. He also has lost several of these sponsors with the recent scandals of his many infidelities.

Coach Connor Sullivan operates a basketball web site that offers basketball videos training aids and coaching/instructional videos along with lots of free training advice. His brother ordered basketball skills aids and training aids videos from his website.

Jewelry in Professional Sports

Have you ever wondered what kind of jewelry an athlete is allowed to wear on the field? Like is a pitcher player allowed to wear a men's wedding ring on the on the mound? Or is a hockey player allowed to wear a necklace? Here is a brief rundown on what professional athletes are allowed to wear in the four major sports.

NHL

Since most of the a players body is covered on the ice (save the neck and face) by their uniform, skates, socks, gloves and helmet, the NHL does not have any rules pertaining to what type of jewelry can be worn during the game. Since it's a high impact sport, players are apt not to wear any type of earrings or rings during the games. As for necklaces, as long as they don't appear outside of the jersey they are allowed.

NFL

If there is one sport that is hyper critical of what a player wears on the field, it is the NFL (or as some fans have dubbed it the "No Fun League"). Not only can you get penalized for excessive celebration on the field, but also for wearing non- sanctioned socks or shoes. And the rules begin from the time someone hits the field for pre-game practice all the way to the time they leave the stadium. Rules are even enforced during post game interviews! Ironically, though, the NFL does not have excessive rules on what kind of jewelry can be worn on the field. Since hands are primarily used for catching and blocking, rings are generally not worn as they could affect the catching or throwing of a ball. Necklaces and ear rings, on the other hand, are worn, as long as they are within reason. Bracelets, on the other hand, must be covered at all time. Did I mention that officials review the entire game afterwards to make sure (once again) that no one broke uniform rules during the game? Wow.

NBA

In the past few years the commissioner's office has begun to come down hard on NBA players with a new dress code that has limited what a player could wear before and after a game. This is extended to the court where NBA players are not allowed to wear any type of jewelry. This means earrings; bracelets, rings and necklaces are all no-no's. The only accessories allowed on the court are knee and elbow braces, headbands and, of course, tattoos.

MLB

Major League Baseball, on the other hand, seems to have a very liberal policy when it comes to jewelry. Essentially you can wear any type of jewelry unless it's deemed by an umpire as "distracting" or can interfere with the game. In other words, pitchers can't wear rings as they might scuff the ball and no giant mirrored necklaces that might distract the batter from the ball (not that anyone is thinking of wearing it, but you get the idea).

Seems most sports don't allow for jewelry, not even mens wedding rings, so what's a guy to do? Keep that ring somewhere safe until the game is over!

Author Kimberly Green had to keep sports in mind when looking for mens wedding rings as her husband loves to play all sorts of sports!