Euro 2020: England superstars set for sponsorship windfall if they triumph in final
England footballers are set to receive a windfall from sponsorship deals if they win the Euro 2020 final on Sunday against Italy.
Sports marketing expert Alan Seymour predicts that superstars Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka will be in high demand among companies.
He said: “So far, Raheem has probably been the stand-out player and he will be the closest to a Johnny Wilkinson-type poster boy but if someone scores the winner in the final that will propel them on to the A-list.”
England beat Denmark 2-1 after extra time on Wednesday night to reach their first final at a men’s major international tournament since 1966.
“Jack Grealish could be that person — he is a bit of a new face, and has a bit of an edge that someone like Harry Kane doesn’t have” Seymour said.
“A brand will want to jump on that. Bukayo Saka has such a great story — he was a straight-A student at school and companies will want to work with him in a different way, to make the most of his values.”
He added “The most oft-used concept in sports marketing is legend, think of the 1966 squad, people will never forget those players, and that is very powerful to a company.”
He also noted that firms will be competing with each other to sign up manager Gareth Southgate.
Southgate famously fronted a Pizza Hut advert in which he hid his face using a paper bag after he faced a public backlash for missing in a penalty shoot-out against Germany in the Euro 1996 semi-final at Wembley.
As well as potential brand endorsements, England’s players will share bonuses worth up to £12 million if they win the tournament – an average of £461,000 per player.
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