Bryant as a Spokesman Might Never Be the Same

Kobe Bryant has enjoyed a reputation as one of the world’s most marketable athletes, ranking alongside the likes of such superstars as Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.

But charges filed Friday accusing the Laker guard of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old Colorado woman now threaten to endanger sponsorship contracts worth $100 million or more in current and future endorsements, marketing experts said.

“I think everything comes to a hard stop for now,” said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon. Expect Bryant’s sponsors to take “a basic hands-off attitude for the moment.... Even if they have $2 million invested to use him as an endorser, they have millions more to lose if they use him as an endorser at this moment.”

Bryant, 24, has deals with Nike Inc., McDonald’s Corp., Coca-Cola Co.’s Sprite brand, Upper Deck trading cards and other companies that Advertising Age magazine said net him more than $20 million a year.

None of Bryant’s sponsors indicated Friday that they were seeking to distance themselves from the athlete.

“Kobe has stated that he is innocent of the charges today,” Nike said in a statement. “You will understand that this is a legal matter and we cannot comment further at this time.”

Bryant recently signed a five-year, $45-million deal with Nike, but the sneaker giant has yet to involve him in any ad campaigns or introduce a signature shoe line.

Coke also said it would not comment as the case proceeds through the courts. “We have worked successfully with Kobe Bryant since 1997, and he remains under contract with us through 2005,” Coke spokesman Scott Williamson said.

Marketing experts said the companies that sponsor Bryant were reluctant to act rashly because of Bryant’s otherwise squeaky-clean image, his claims of innocence and the fact that the National Basketball Assn. season -- and the sponsors’ advertising campaigns tied to Bryant -- haven’t yet started.

“I would expect them to act very deliberately,” said Dean Bonham, chief executive of Bonham Group, a sports marketing firm in Denver. “It’s the right thing to do, and they’re dealing with one of the most valuable endorsers in the sports world.”

Even if Bryant is ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, however, his admission of adultery won’t help his standing with corporate America or many sports fans, analysts said.

“This tidal wave [of bad publicity] is about to hit him,” said David Carter, a principal of Sports Business Group in Los Angeles.

The charge against Bryant calls into question whether he will lose the ability to make $100 million to $200 million from endorsements over the course of his career, said Bob Williams, chief executive of Burns Sports & Celebrities Inc., a company that matches advertisers with athletes and celebrities for endorsement.

“He’s looked at forever differently, even if he’s found not guilty of the charges,” Williams said. “I think his endorsement career would be limited somewhat if he has to go through a trial and is exonerated. And if he goes through a trial and is found guilty, his endorsement career will be over.”

There’s also a strong chance that even if Bryant is eventually acquitted or settles the charges, his case “might become a public-relations nightmare” for his sponsors and give them cause to release him, Carter said.

Analysts noted that some other athletes maintained endorsements or went on to secure lucrative sponsorship deals despites serious scrapes with the law. Baltimore Raven linebacker Ray Lewis, for example, was charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of two men after the 2001 Super Bowl. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of obstructing law enforcement and today makes millions from endorsement deals with Reebok and other companies.

Should Bryant’s case be resolved short of a felony conviction, his reputation might be rebuilt, slowly but surely. Bryant’s youth and the public’s short memory for the fallibility of star athletes, particularly a three-time NBA champion, could work in his favor, marketing experts said.

Until now, Bryant enjoyed a near-pristine persona -- that of one of the NBA’s clean-cut, hard-working, private superstars. Some said that image hurt his ability to sell sneakers to young urban basketball players, who drive the sales of high-end athletic shoes.

Bryant’s marriage, and the recent birth of his daughter, only added to his popular appeal. He wore his baby’s hospital ID bracelet in his first game after she was born and later appeared in ESPN ads carrying a case of diapers.

He is well known through the league for his involvement with charities. Two hours before most home games, Bryant can be found visiting with troubled teenagers, kids from the Make-A-Wish Foundation and abused children.

In a poll last fall, Bryant ranked as the third-best product endorser in sports, behind Woods and Jordan.

“One reason Kobe is so loved is that he seemed to be above the fray,” said Peter Montoya, author of “The Brand Called You” and publisher of Personal Branding magazine. “We expected more of Kobe. We didn’t expect him to get into this kind of mess. We believed Kobe is different.”