Two Irish Sporting Legends have been featured in this year’s list of the 50 Most Marketable Athletes in sport published by Sports Pro.
Rory McIlroy is in at number 17, and he is joined for the first time by the oldest athlete ever to appear on the list, 46 year old Darren Clarke, at number 40.
In total the list comprises 22 sports with soccer and tennis providing 6 each and golf 5. There are 38 men and 12 women among the 50 with Canadian tennis player Eugenie Bouchard at the top, the first time in the six years of the list that this has been the case.
Only six countries have multiple entries. The US has 18, Britain 6 and there are two each from Brazil, Canada, India and Ireland.
Clarke becomes the third Irish star to feature on the list over all time, the other being Katie Walsh who featured two years ago on the basis of what her value might be were she to have won the Aintree Grand National. She won the Irish edition at Fairyhouse last month but with this year’s list dominated by next year’s Rio Olympics that was not enough to sustain a place at such a rich top table of sporting marketability.
The criteria used to judge inclusion are based on potential as well as achievement, and how each of the stars is likely to perform in the eyes of endorsing brand managers over the next three years.
Conor McGregor will doubtless be upset at his omission but for now Ronda Rousey is the only entrant from the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
The entry for Clarke highlights that:
“The Ryder Cup cuts through like no other event in golf and, in Europe at least, the captaincy has become the sport’s most prized office, particularly in the wake of Paul McGinley’s meticulous, professional and committed approach to last year’s edition.”
“Along with a healthy dose of luck, the captain needs experience, guts and the ability to inspire. That makes Darren Clarke, confirmed as European captain for the match on US soil next year, an ideal candidate.”
“Clarke’s Ryder Cup playing history – five successive appearances, culminating in a brave and emotional performance at the K-Club in 2006 just weeks after his first wife, Heather, succumbed to breast cancer – will likely have a magnetic pull for companies keen to participate in a competition with major appeal beyond the avid golf fan.”
“His manager, ISM’s Chubby Chandler, will make sure of it. Clarke, Open champion in 2011 and still plying his trade on the European Tour, will be the face of a continent’s efforts to retain one of sport’s great prizes.”
“And as McGinley is discovering, captain well and you are assured a greater profile and significant corporate support long after the final points have been won.”
You can see the full list and read the reasons why at Sports Pro.
Image Credit: Inpho.ie
