Williams’ earnings may even rise
BENGALURU: The end of Serena Williams’s glittering tennis career will have little to no impact on the American’s brand value and her earnings from endorsements could even surge postretirement, industry experts say.
Williams announced this month that she would end her playing career at the US Open, which started this morning, making it her final tournament in the sport she has dominated for more than two decades.
Sportswear giant Nike has said it will continue to partner with the 40yearold after her retirement and other major sponsors are likely to follow suit.
‘‘While Serena’s oncourt visibility will fade . . . I don’t see any drop in her brand value,’’ Bob Dorfman, sports marketing analyst at San Francisco’s Pinnacle Advertising, said.
‘‘More than a tennis superstar, she’s a legitimate icon . . . [and] she’ll certainly stay top of mind for many years to come.
‘‘The highestearning female athlete of all time will surely remain a highpowered brand, even after putting down her racquet.’’
The only way Williams’ brand value would fade was if she decided to stay out of the spotlight, Lisa Delpy Neirotti, director of sports management programmes at George Washington University, said.
‘‘But if she becomes a voice of some cause, if she stays relevant and in front of her fanbase, then her value goes up,’’ Neirotti added.
‘‘She’s been such a powerful player on and off the court . . . I think she’ll be relevant in social causes.’’
While several elite male athletes have forged successful postplaying career brands, Williams’ accomplishments position her well ahead of other female athletes in terms of her appeal to major sponsors.
‘‘As no other active female player is close to her level of accomplishment, everyone coming up in women’s tennis will continue to be compared with Serena for a long time to come,’’ Phil de Picciotto, founder and president of sports agency Octagon, said.
NBA great Michael Jordan showed that athletes can earn more in retirement than in their playing days, while the injured Roger Federer still tops the list of the world’s highestpaid tennis players despite not playing for nearly 14 months.
Few women athletes have had lasting appeal to sponsors after retiring but Williams — who earned $US35.1 million ($NZ57.2 million) this year to edge out former men’s world No 1s Rafa Nadal
($US31.4 million) and Novak Djokovic ($US27.1 million) — should be an exception.
In June, she was named in the Forbes list of America’s richest selfmade women with an estimated net worth of $US260 million. Her onetime tennis rival, Maria Sharapova, was the only other athlete on the list.
‘‘An athlete’s cache can last well beyond their retirement, especially if they have GOAT [greatest of all time] status like Serena has,’’ Victor Matheson, sports economist at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, said.
Williams’ career prize money of $94.6 million is dwarfed by her endorsement income, estimated to be about $340 million, and the ball is in her court as she looks ahead to life without the demands of being an elite athlete. — Reuters