Micheal Phelps, greatest swimmer but a bad investment?

Question

First off congrats on his amazing run having the most medals as an Olympian and 8 gold medals in one Olympics. He could be the best swimmer in the history of swimming until somebody maybe next 20 years from now will beat his record. Now he is the most popular sports figure for the summer and maybe throughout the 08 year. His endorsement will be sky rocketed if not already and he probably win the sportman of the year this year. With all that said, is it safe to put all the stocks into Micheal Phelps? You probably wondering what I am talking about and you might even think I'm crazy. Here is my arguements that he is not a good investments in terms of markebility revenue. I would like to hear if you agree or not.

I am a straight dude but I believe he is a pretty good looking guy. From what i've heard through my female friends, he's a pretty good lookin fella. Ignore his big ears and questionable smile, he is marketable in terms of appearance wised. He got the body physic and the image that can market any product you want. However, he is not a very charismatic person. Now I don't know him personaly so I could be wrong. I don't know how he acts around his friends or what not but from what I noticed through his interviews and on tv, I noticed he doesnt have a tv personality. His interviews and answers are mediocre at best. Sometimes he doesnt even know how to answer the questions. He studders and maybe seem shy in front of a camera. So if I am a tv producer or want to create a commercial for Phelps, i have to pick a spot where he doesnt talk. Am I too criticle on him? You don't have to be out there like a Dennis Rodman or a Mike Tyson with crazy tv personality too crazy for tv, but it would be nice to be able to speak well. I mean Lebron James for example is a great athlete and does have some tv personality. Maybe i could be wrong here. Maybe he will get commercials where he speaks about the product instead of people showing his gold medal as the pitch. He could be Kobe Bryant. Bryant doesnt have a great tv personality because he is always PC with all of his answers but Kobe is highely marketable. However, swimming is not a major sports until the olympics come around so how do we market Phelps? I dont see him on tv anytime soon talking about things. So what do you guys think? By the way, i am not a Phelp hater.

Answer 1

I would like to correct the widely held misconception that Phelps holds the record for the most Olympic medals, he does not. The record for the most Olympic medals ever won is held by Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina. Competing in three Olympics, between 1956 and 1964, she won 18 medals: 9 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze.

Answer 2

Peter Carlisle, who leads the Olympic and action sports division at Octagon, told The Wall Street Journal in a story Monday he expects Phelps’ current earnings of between $3 million and $5 million a year should at least double, or more, because of his performance in Beijing.

“What is the value of eight golds in Beijing before a prime-time audience in the U.S?” Carlisle told the paper. “I’d say $100 million over the course of his lifetime.”

Here’s a look at the sponsors of American swimmer Michael Phelps, according to his agents. They declined to specify the value of the deals.

Speedo USA—maker of swimsuits, a licensed brand of the Warnaco Group Inc.

Visa Inc.—the credit card company

Omega—luxury watchmaker that is a unit of Swatch Group AG

Hilton Hotels Corp.—hotel chain

PowerBar—nutrition bar made by Swiss chocolate maker Nestle SA.

AT&T Inc.—communications provider

Kellogg Co.—maker of Frosted Flakes, Cheez-Its and Eggo waffles

Rosetta Stone Ltd.—language learning software maker

PureSport—sports performance beverage, made by Human Performance Labs

SwimRoom.com—Internet site for swimmers

Given this information, you tell me if he is marketable.