Andy Murray’s New York Win Will Move Him Into The Money Big Leagues

Written by: Staff on 12th September 2012

Andy Murray's New York Win Will Move Him Into The Money Big Leagues

epa03392959 Andy Murray of Great Britain hits a return to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the men's final match on the fifteenth day of the 2012 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 10 September 2012. The US Open has been extended a day for the fifth straight year due to weather. EPA/LARRY W. SMITH |

US Open champion Andy Murray is poised to move into sport’s top bracket of earners and marketing analysts are predicting the 25 year-old Scot could dramatically multiply his off-court earnings in the wake of his triumph in New York that followed on from an Olympic gold medal.

Murray already has lucrative contracts with adidas, Head rackets, Rado watches, Jaguar sports cars and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

According to Forbes Magazine, the world no.3 is estimated to have earned $12 million throughout the last 12 months, which still left him financially in the wake of Wimbledon and world no.1 Roger Federer, whose estimated earnings were $54.3m.

With the $1.9 million he banked after taking away Novak Djokovic’s U.S. Open crown on Monday, Murray’s prize money for 2012 now stands at $ 4,295,110. This still leaves him fourth, behind Djokovic ($6,972,425), Federer ($6,261,241) and Nadal ($4,997,448).

However the big league of endorsement groups, such as the hi-technology companies, soft drinks manufacturers and food companies are now looking at the Scot. “Andy Murray could realistically triple his off-court earnings from sponsorship, advertising and endorsements to reach around £20m in the next 12 months,” says Nigel Currie, director of the sports marketing agency Brand Rapport.

“Tennis and golf are two of the few genuinely global sports that reach every country and as one of the top four players in tennis he has a huge global profile. Once you’re a Grand Slam winner you’re in a unique group, and it’s that uniqueness that becomes highly marketable.”

Rachel Barnes, deputy editor of Marketing magazine concurred. “He may have been a top four player for some time, but without that title, he’s not a ‘name’ in the United States, beyond tennis fans. The same goes for the lucrative Asian market.

“All that will change now. The fact that Murray doesn’t seek the limelight or act up to cameras will, in many ways, make him more bankable from a sponsorship perspective.

He’s all about credibility and raw emotion.

“Those two attributes are gold dust from a sponsorship perspective. They are everything that almost every brand wants and needs to win over their target market.”

Alan Seymour, a professor of sports marketing at the U.K.’s University of Northampton, added: “A win at the US Open, coupled with his Olympic victory, will bring him untold riches. His off court earnings could increase five to ten-fold.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Andy Murray, Brand Rapport, British tennis news, Mussa, New York tennis news, Tennis News