Schooling’s worth over S$1m: Analysts

SINGAPORE – Over S$1 million. That is the estimated commercial worth of national swimmer Joseph Schooling now following his gold medal win at the Olympic Games last Saturday (Aug 13), and his value is only set to increase over the years, said sports marketing and business analysts that TODAY spoke to.

The 21-year-old has been thrust into the spotlight following his victory in the Rio Olympics 100m fly – where he beat Michael Phelps, Chad Le Clos and Laszlo Cseh with an Olympic-record time of 50.39s. His name and image has since been used extensively by both local and international brands looking to capitalise on the wave of ‘Schooling-mania’.

With Schooling marrying his talent to a likeable public persona that combines a measure of both confidence and humility, patriotism, intelligence and good looks, analysts believes he is currently worth a seven-figure sum, and has all the right ingredients to become one of the most valuable sports stars not only in Singapore, but the region and possibly the world.

“He’s a trailblazer, a national hero, has massive following, is good looking, speaks well, competes at a world class level, and generally hasn’t done anything wrong, so commercially he could garner in excess of over S$1 million,” said Terence Khoo, managing director of local sports marketing firm Enterprise Sports Group and former national rugby captain.

Agreeing, R Sasikumar, managing director of sports marketing agency Red Card Group, added: “If we look at the ambush marketing (done on Schooling) over the past few days, in terms of advertisements, it’s already worth a couple of millions easily.

“These brands and organisations are not paying for his image rights. Now, imagine if they had to, what Schooling will earn will be in the millions.

“It’s the ‘Schooling effect’, and brands are getting excited with the value he has and what he can bring to them. After all, he made history, is very articulate, good looking and the only way the Schooling brand is going is up.”

But while Schooling’s current commercial value might be through the roof, he will be unable to cash in on any sponsorship or endorsement deals because he is still a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athlete.

As a University of Texas student and a member of the Texas Longhorns swimming team, Schooling, who is scheduled to graduate in two years’ time, is governed by NCAA rules which state that all college athletes must maintain their amateur status in order to compete in NCAA competitions.

Holding an amateur status means Schooling will be ineligible to receive payment for sponsorship deals and celebrity appearances, or risk being ineligible for NCAA competition and losing his scholarship.

“His commercial value is of course worth millions but, as of now, he holds none of it,” said James Walton, head of sports business practice at Deloitte, South-east Asia, who knows the Schooling family. “His mother, May, who is basically his agent, is very careful in navigating his success now.

“Joseph is on a scholarship with the UT Austin to represent the school in swimming, and in University sports in the States, the NCAA is very strict on its policy on receiving sponsorships, and any payments whatsoever. The association bears no qualms in clamping down on any case that is suspected of flouting the rules.”

However, Ang Swee Hoon, Associate Professor of Marketing at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, highlighted that it is possible for Schooling to bank in on his popularity and marketability, as long as he sustains it till after he graduates.

And the most important factor tied into that is how well he does in the pool over the next few years.

“Schooling is worth in access of S$1 million now and, if he continues to achieve success, he’ll be worth much more than that,” said Ang. “The fact that he’s won not just Singapore’s first gold medal, but also beat someone like Michael Phelps, will only boost his potential and earning power.

“After all, businesses and brands would like to align themselves with a winner, and Joseph has shown he is one. And the more competitions he wins, the more valuable he is to brands and sponsors.”

Apart from winning in the pool however, Schooling needs to maintain his relationship with his fans on his various social media platforms in order to remain relevant in the long-run.

“He has to maintain a social media profile, be it via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook,” said Ben Flint, CEO of Asia Sponsorship News (ASN). “He needs to maintain his presence as Joseph Schooling the brand. If he steps off on social media, the number of fans will go down.”

Flint also cautioned that while a multitude of brands might come flocking to Schooling, he should be cautious with who he chooses to associate himself with.

“More savvy brands will try to draw a creative bridge between what they represent and what Joseph represents,” Flint explained.

“But Joseph and his parents should filter these requests and see which brand fits his image and will be able to enhance his status.”

And Sasikumar believes that with Schooling’s star set to shine even brighter over the next few years, he will need a team of professionals to help him manage his image.

“He needs a team around him now that will continue to work for him and be smart in negotiating a good deal,” said Sasikumar. “They could use professionals who understand not only the commercial aspect, but the needs of the athletes as well.

“Sometimes it’s tough for the family to say no to media or commercial engagements for fear of spoiling relationships. So let the agency be the bad guy, that’s their role. Being part of an agency is part and parcel of being a global name.”

Meanwhile, Schooling’s success at the Olympics is likely to benefit the Singapore sporting scene as a whole, and Khoo expects more corporate organisations to come on board in future to sponsor local athletes.

“The reality is that Schooling has proven that succeeding on an international stage can be done,” explained Khoo. “This will change the mind-set of corporates and I expect the floodgates for sports sponsorship to open as they will now be more willing to invest in potential talents.

“The current pool of national athletes can also benefit from this, but they will need to demonstrate their ability, and outline what their targets and plans are clearly to the potential sponsors.”