"Earlier in the year, NBA stars LeBron James and Steph Curry were in China on solo tours, with James's trip done with main sponsor Nike and labeled "The Forever King Tour." Brands in sports are not new. Fred Perry clothing was created by the British tennis player in the 1950s. Air Jordan entered the picture with basketball star Michael Jordan in 1984."
""It's not entirely new, but I think where the novelty comes in is that over the last decade, maybe a little bit more than that, the meaning of the athlete brand has really expanded," Nataliya Bredikhina told DW. Bredikhina is an assistant professor of Sport Management at the University of Delaware, US and specializes in personal branding in professional sports."
"The athlete is more than just a competitor or the labor on the field, but I feel like it wasn't until really the emergence of social media and technologies that the boundaries of what the athlete is really transcended," said Bredikhina. She added that athlete tours, shows and promotions are becoming more common. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Messi and his team are ahead of the curve."
Lionel Messi's GOAT Tour and similar solo visits by top athletes show strong global fan interest, despite crowd-control issues such as the pitch storming in Kolkata. NBA stars LeBron James and Steph Curry conducted solo tours in China, with James's trip backed by Nike as "The Forever King Tour." Athlete-created brands have historical roots in Fred Perry and Air Jordan, but modern athlete branding has broadened. Social media and new technologies have expanded athlete identities beyond on-field performance. Athlete tours, interactive exhibitions like the Messi Experience, and sponsorship partnerships are increasingly common worldwide.
Read at www.dw.com
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