Blue Giraffe Sports<\/a> out of Atlanta, admires Chandler\u2019s gambling approach to endorsement deals, but also sees the much different market reality in the States making such arrangements unlikely. \u00a0\u201cThe approach Chubby took was unique and is not a common one in the US market,” Judy says. \u00a0 \u201cMost deals done here have some type of compensation involved up front and are not totally based upon incentives.”<\/p>\nAmerica may be the theoretical land of unrestrained capitalism, but when it comes to risk, European golfers seem a lot more willing to put their games on the line.\u00a0 The all-exempt PGA Tour has created a market loaded with incentives to do well enough but not necessarily great.\u00a0 Top 10s and even top 25s finishes consistently achieved can provide a grand income.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s perhaps not surprising that players such as the supremely confident Rory McIlroy\u2014another horse in the Chandler stable\u2014prefer not to commit themselves to the PGA TOUR full time.\u00a0 They can earn appearance money overseas, but they can also leverage their wins through incentivized endorsement deals.<\/p>\n
There are 54 players who have earned over a million dollars on the PGA Tour so far in 2011.\u00a0 Twenty-six of them have won tournaments (including three two-time winners.)\u00a0\u00a0 That means there are twenty-eight players who have already won more than a million dollars this year \u00a0without winning an event.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kind of deal Chubby\u2019s set up is legal on the US TOUR” says Judy, who is a graduate of Mercer Law School outside Atlanta, \u201cbut our market has not yet widely adopted this type of deal from the corporate or the player side. \u00a0With more examples of these type of successes, I think a hybrid of these kinds of deals will become more prevalent in certain situations.”<\/p>\n
Payments under these \u201cwin to get paid\u201d arrangements are usually funded through an insurance policy, Judy explained.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just like hole-in-one insurance” he said. \u00a0 The cost of the insurance policy would be roughly the same for a company as the annual endorsement payment to a player of Clarke\u2019s stature.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not clear, however, \u00a0how Dunlop has funded its payment to Clarke.<\/p>\n
If the payment had been provided through an insurance policy, somebody\u2014probably through Lloyd\u2019s of London\u2014figured out the odds for Clarke winning a major and wrote a policy to cover that unlikely event.\u00a0 (I would love to meet the actuary whose job it is to handicap players in major championships. \u00a0Meeting with the oddsmakers at the betting parlors would surely be a part of the research required.)<\/p>\n
Dunlop was not really much at risk for the \u20ac2M, even if it has to cough up to Clarke.\u00a0\u00a0 Dunlop\u2019s logo is featured in every interview and photo of Clarke, who is immensely popular already and will now be even more in demand.\u00a0 Dunlop is getting its money\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n
Chandler\u2019s players currently hold three major championship trophies:\u00a0 The Masters (Charl Schwartzel), the US Open (McIlroy) and Clarke\u2019s Claret Jug.\u00a0\u00a0 His influence as an agent and International Sports Management’s (ISM) stable will surely grow.\u00a0\u00a0 But unless there is a shift in sensibility, Chandler\u2019s clever strategies for leveraging his players\u2019 successes may never play well among American professionals.<\/p>\n
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