The next time you see world heavyweight champion George Foreman, it won't be in the boxing ring. It will probably be in an advertisement. Or two. Or three.
Foreman, 45, shocked the sports world late Saturday by knocking out defending champ Michael Moorer. With one punch, Foreman regained the championship belt that barely fits around his bulging midriff. He also won something potentially more lucrative: the keen interest of marketers. Dozens of companies are lining up to get cozy with the unlikely but much-loved champ. New sponsorship offers range from a long-term link with a major carmaker to a tiny firm that wants to put the champ's face on its milk bottle caps.
"Would you believe there are more than 100 endorsement offers sitting on my desk right now?" asks Henry Holmes, Foreman's lawyer and adviser, after returning to his Los Angeles office from Las Vegas late Monday afternoon. Holmes wouldn't name the suitors. But he did say that Random House on Monday signed a book deal with Foreman. Negotiations also are under way with two networks that want to make movies about the boxer's life.
Industry executives estimate that Foreman could double his annual endorsement fees to nearly $6 million over the next year. The champ could rake in another $2 million in motivational speaking fees during the same period.
Such an outpouring of corporate interest is unusual for a boxer - even a heavyweight champ - because most sponsors shy away from a sport beset with image problems. But it isn't just the knockout punch that advertisers say they love about George Foreman. They are attracted to his wide-ranging appeal. Men over 40 go gaga over Foreman because he represents hope. Women like him because he does not come off as overly macho. Children and teens are attracted to Foreman because he is often cartoon-ike in his offbeat actions and in his self-mocking humor. Sports marketers insist that, most of all, it is Foreman's personality that sells.
"Even people who know nothing about sports love George Foreman," says Alan Friedman, editor of Team Marketing Report, a sports marketing newsletter. "He could become the most frequently used athlete endorser over the next 12 months."
Foreman's high celebrity stock is about to jump. He ranked ninth in likability of all athletes in a poll by research firm Video Storyboard Testing. Last year, American Data Sports rated him 11th out of 77 athletes.
Many sponsors are requesting his family, too. Foreman has four sons who are all named George, after their immodest pop.
Long before Foreman won the championship, he and his family were featured in a number of ads:
-- Frito-Lay showed Foreman and his sons munching Doritos in a spot for the chips.
-- Kraft featured the Georges gobbling hot dogs in an ad for Oscar Mayer's Big & Juicy hot dogs.
-- Kentucky Fried Chicken had Foreman chomping fried chicken.
-- Foreman sang Broadway tunes in a Nike ad with Bo Jackson.
-- And family man Foreman insists Meineke Discount Muffler Shops offer family security and the best prices. "I guarantee it," Foreman says in the ad, which has been running for more than 18 months.
Revenue at the muffler chain rose more than 10% during the past year. The Foreman ads played a big role in that boost, says Ron Smythe, president and CEO at Meineke. The company, eager to capitalize on Foreman's new stature, will run a print ad in Thursday's USA TODAY with a photo of Foreman under the headline: "We always knew you were champ, and now you guaranteed it."
Meineke also has delayed filming four TV spots and will replace them with ones that reflect Foreman's status as champ, Smythe says.
The marketing executive who linked Foreman with Frito-Lay says he is trying to match Foreman with a truck maker. "He's a tough guy who can take a lot of punishment," says Jay Coleman, president of Entertainment and Marketing Communications International. "That has truck marketing written all over it."
Foreman's win also represents a powerful boost to his off-season career as a motivational speaker. Amway and ReMax Realty recently paid a hefty $30,000 each for him to speak to their groups. With the heavyweight belt in tow, he can command more than $50,000, says Marc Reede, president of Nationwide Speakers Bureau.
"George Foreman is a very shrewd businessman," says Ron Weathers, the promoter who formerly represented Foreman. Although Foreman's short-lived TV show, George, was canceled by ABC after just 13 weeks last year, Foreman collected about $50,000 per show, Weathers says. Foreman signed an estimated $100 million contract with HBO for five fights - including Saturday's, for which he collected $1 million. In addition, he gets $50,000 for each TV spot that he appears in to promote his fights.
During the next few weeks, it may seem like Foreman's face is everywhere. But there's one place he won't be showing up: Disney World.
The Magic Kingdom has spent years developing a marketing campaign that lures top athletes. But Foreman won't be among those to shout: "I'm going to Disney World," when asked by a bystander, "What are you going to do next?"
"It would have been a good idea," says Disney spokesman John Story. "But nobody thought of it."
Top five athlete endorsers
Boxer George Foreman racked up $3 million in product endorsements last year, according to Forbes magazine. Athletes making the most from endorsements:
'94(1)
income
Rank, athlete Sport (millions)
1. Michael Jordan basketball/baseball $31.0
2. Shaquille O'Neal basketball $13.5
3. Arnold Palmer golf $12.0
4. Jack Nicklaus golf $10.5
5. Joe Montana football $10.0
1 - projection based on earnings and estimates of appearance and speaking fees Source: The Sports Marketing Letter
