| 20 June 2011
Dwight Howard cracked the top 10 in Forbes annual Fortunate 50 list, moving up two spots from 12 by raking in more than $28.5 million this year. Howard has become an international marketing star and is the fourth highest earner in the NBA behind LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett.
Howard made $16.6 million in salary and approximately $12 million in endorsements according to the list, whcih was topped by golfers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
It is hard to mention anything this offseason without putting the free agency spin on it. So here we go...
It has long been rumored that Howard envisions himself as becoming an international entertainment star. He has already made cameos in movies such as Valentine's Day and Just Wright and seems to take multiple international promotional trips for adidas and Basketball Without Borders every offseason. Howard certainly is a busy guy and he is very photogenic. His joking personality has endeared him to media -- although his constant complaining has not had the same effect on officials.
But you also get the sense that he is a big fish in a small pond sometimes too. His name was not mentioned in first breath for the MVP award this year except by those who follow the league very closely and the perception that he is not quite a superstar does exist. As Greg Oden joked in numerous ads before he drafted, it is tough to sell big guys.
The thinking has gone then that Howard is somewhat looking for an escape to a bigger market to increase his marketing opportunities.
No one knows whether that is true or not. All we know is what Howard said, that he wants to remain in Orlando and that is his number one priority (short of signing an extension).
But if that is something he is interested in, it should be important to note that Howard has steadily climbed the ranking to get into the top 10. He was ranked 12th last year in the Fortunate 50, passing Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal on his way up, 13th in 2009 and 22nd in 2008 (the Finals was a big bump up for Howard). Howard should have staying power on this list as he is sure to make the maximum contract the NBA will allow wherever he goes and should continue to be marketing darling -- he has appeared in ads for McDonald's, Gatorade and adidas in the past year.
I would always argue that the size of the media market you play in does not matter if you are among the elite players in the league. Madison Avenue will find you if you are that good. LeBron James was a marketing sensation in the medium-sized Cleveland. If Tim Duncan cared about anything other than championships, I doubt he would have had problems doing commercials coming out of San Antonio.
Howard cares about this stuff more in the offseason. That is when he films many of his commercials and takes his focus away from basketball. But money is not going to be what decides where Howard goes.
Dwight has already said what it will take for any team to bring him in. That is giving him the best chance to win a title.
Howard will get fairly compensated by his contract and his endorsements. I doubt money will play much of a factor, even if he can continue to grow his financial portfolio in Orlando over other cities.
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