Breaking through four years ago at the London 2012 Games, swimming golden star Missy Franklin (USA) was nominated among the world’s 50 most marketable athletes of 2016, an annual list produced by Sports Pro Media since 2010.
The list identifies athletes that will best carry a brand’s values during their sporting career.
Sports Pro explains that “the real challenge – and the job of the vast majority of marketers out there – is in identifying value for money. It is in the art of unearthing potential and in the business of finding a human hook on which to hang a brand story”
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Missy Franklin, who is ranked 9th* this year, signed her first endorsement deal with Speedo, a long-time partner of FINA, in 2016, as well as other big brands.
Franklin confessed that: “Speedo is a brand I have trusted since I began swimming.”
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Top three of this list includes:
1. Stephen Curry – Basketball, USA
2. Paul Pogba – Soccer, France
3. Virat Kohli – Cricket, India
*2015 ranking: 4