Athlete Sponsorship: Easy as 1-2-3?
Is it possible that sports agents who try to procure sponsorships for their clients are over-thinking the process a little too much? Milwaukee Wave soccer player Marco Terminesi probably thinks so.
Terminesi obtained a sponsorship for himself the old fashioned way. He ate at a local restaurant. He liked it. He talked to the restaurant’s manager. He asked the manager if the restaurant would sponsor him. The manager agreed, and now the soccer player has a sponsor:
"It's perfect for me," Terminesi said. "It's healthy food, and the players go there. And Felipe likes soccer." Camargo, a soccer fan himself, said he's been happy with the response so far. In his mind, both the Wave and his restaurant are on the same agenda: a fun, family-friendly atmosphere. "They care about their fans," Camargo said of the Wave. "And we care about our customers."
Of course I am being a little tongue-in-cheek with this post, as we know it is not always this easy to procure a sports sponsorship. Also, most leagues and governing bodies are not as loose with their sponsorship regulations as Major Indoor Soccer League, which allows individual players to place their sponsor’s logos onto their uniforms. Can you imagine the NFL allowing uniforms to be adorned with individual sponsor logos?!
