Chapter 624: Sponsor CBA

At that time, the CBA had not yet started a complete commercial operation. Many teams adopted the system of the provincial sports team in the past. Players were trained in their own youth training system, and they entered the team to play with a formal career establishment. Local sports governing bodies will also allocate funds to fund team operations.

Since there is a lack of commercialization factors, it cannot bring sufficient commercial profits. The entire league system, from the sponsor's basketball association to the local teams, can get very limited sponsorships.

In 1995, when CBA was first established, the title sponsor was a certain cigarette brand. In the following years, it was sponsored by Hilton China, followed by Motorola and Unicom New World.

It was not until after it was changed to the secondary professional basketball team that Anta began to sponsor the CBA as a title sponsor. After that, Li Ning invested heavily and became the title sponsor of the CBA, and also came up with a sneaker ban. Players can only wear Li Ning's sneakers to participate in the competition. .

From the perspective of marketing promotion, sports brands sponsor sports events, which are highly matched with customer groups. The precise delivery of this kind of advertising is very cost-effective.

However, in the early CBA league, there was no title sponsorship of sports brands. .

This pot still has to be counted on Li Ning's head.

At that time, only Li Ning was the only domestic sports brand that had the strength to sponsor the CBA league. The four major local sports brands other than Li Ning have not yet grown up. Even if they want to sponsor CBA, they are powerless.

So as long as Li Ning does not sponsor, there will be no other sports brands to sponsor CBA.

It was not until the rise of Anta and the money in its hands that it began to sponsor the CBA.

From the perspective of results, Anta's move to sponsor the CBA league is very successful.

China's basketball population is already quite large, especially after Chairman Yao entered the NBA, basketball has developed rapidly in China, and the national football team is becoming more and more unsatisfactory, making the public turn their attention to basketball.

Therefore, according to Zhuge Liang's analysis after the fact, Li Ning did not sponsor the CBA as soon as possible, which was a strategic mistake.

It is also aware that sponsoring CBA can bring great benefits to the brand. In the future, Li Ning won the title sponsorship of the CBA league at a high price.

In 2001, the degree of commercialization of domestic sports leagues was not high, and sports brands did not realize the benefits of sponsoring sports leagues.

In addition, the men's football team successfully entered the World Cup this year, and all the people's attention was on football. The fake A-League was not only full of seats, but even a ticket was hard to come by. Large herd of cattle.

The attention to CBA has naturally decreased a lot.

It was also because the CBA was not having a good time this year that Chen Maikang tentatively talked about sponsorship.

Li Weidong does not reject the sponsorship of the CBA league. If the price is right, Li Weidong is also happy to sponsor.

Basketball shoes are the main business of Feiyue Sports. Sponsoring the CBA League is definitely the most accurate advertisement for Feiyue Sports.

So the key is to get the price right.

I saw Li Weidong pondering for a moment, and then said: Director Chen, the naming rights of the A League next season should not be sold, right?

Naming rights? Chen Maikang was taken aback. He was just randomly developing a sponsor. It would be nice to sell a few advertising spaces. He didn't expect Li Weidong to directly talk about the naming rights!

This is probably like, the salesman is promoting a suite, but the customer points to the sand table and says, How do you package this building for sale?

If someone else dared to ask the price like this, he would definitely be mad at the beginning, and the bad temper would directly give him two feet.

However, there is a high probability that a rich man like Li Weidong really has purchase intentions!

Chairman Li is interested in the naming rights of the A League next season? Well, we are also looking for a title sponsor for the next season. Chen Maikang replied immediately.

In 2001, Hilton China ended the title sponsorship of the CBA, and the CBA league at this time was in the gap period of the title sponsor.

Moreover, the companies originally responsible for attracting investment to CBA have also quit, which makes the original CBA sponsors face the risk of direct withdrawal.

In order to deal with this problem, the Basketball Association specially established a wholly-owned subsidiary, namely China Blue Company, which is responsible for the investment and promotion of CBA.

Then it wasn't until mid-November, when the competition had already started, that the CBA found a title sponsor.

In order to develop business in China, Motorola is willing to spend 15 million yuan to buy the naming rights of the CBA league for one year.

And this year's CBA league, a total of more than 20 million sponsorships, barely enough to collect enough basic operating funds for a season. It is the most difficult year since the establishment of CBA.

Thinking about the CBA of later generations, with more than 20 sponsors, which can provide more than 700 million sponsorship fees a year, the commercial development of the CBA league is still very successful.

Since the CBA was in a difficult period at the time, when Li Weidong expressed his intention to sponsor the title, Chen Maikang immediately stared at Li Weidong with a look of anticipation.

Li Weidong said: I am not only interested in the naming rights of the A-League this year, but also the naming rights in the next few years.

In the next few years? Chen Maikang was surprised again, this is not to buy a building, but to wrap up the entire project!

Chen Maikang thought for a moment, then said, Chairman Li, my old Chen has never seen anything in the world, so don't make fun of me. The naming rights of our League A for one year will cost 20 million yuan, and the naming rights for several years. , that's an astronomical figure!

At that time, the naming rights of the CBA league were of course less than 20 million yuan a year. In 2001, Motorola's naming rights were only 15 million yuan. Chen Maikang opened his mouth to say 20 million, and he also deliberately gave a high price first, so as to facilitate the price reduction later.

Li Weidong stretched out a finger and said, For six years of naming rights, I will pay 100 million!

Hearing the number one hundred million, Chen Maikang shook his hand, and his chopsticks almost fell to the ground.

He quickly calculated in his mind that the title sponsorship fee of 100 million in six years was rounded up to an average of 16.67 million, which has exceeded the psychological expectations of the Basketball Association.

And directly sign a six-year long contract, the title sponsorship fee in the next few years will not be worrying about.

At that time, the annual operating cost of the CBA league required more than 20 million RMB. With the 16.67 million title sponsorship fee, we could just find some other sponsors. Guaranteed.

Thinking of this, Chen Maikang's tone was full of surprises. He asked, Chairman Li, are you really willing to sponsor for six consecutive years?

How can I lie to you about this kind of thing! Li Weidong said with a smile.

That's great. After I go back, I will report to the leader immediately. Chen Maikang paused, and then said: If Chairman Li is really willing to sponsor for six consecutive years, we should also give a preferential price, a The billion-dollar sponsorship fee is not a problem.”

Director Chen, don't worry, I haven't finished my words yet! Li Weidong sat up straight and said, I am willing to come out with 100 million yuan, and there are other conditions.

Chairman Li, please tell me, I will report to the leaders. As long as I don't go too far, I don't think our basketball association will refuse. In short, everything is negotiable! Chen Maikang said quickly.

The first point, I hope that all players participating in the A League will wear our Feiyue brand basketball shoes. Li Weidong paused, then said: The quality of our Feiyue basketball shoes is still very good, many NBA players All wear our sneakers.

The quality of Feiyue basketball shoes is naturally very good to be sold in the United States, but I am worried that there will be conflict between players and teams. After all, each team and some players are sponsored by sneakers. The sneakers you wear don't cost money. Chen Maikang said.

Li Weidong went on to say: Director Chen, don't worry, I will pay for the sneakers, and the players and teams don't have to pay a penny. For each player, we sponsor six pairs of sneakers each season, and the styles can also be chosen. .I think six pairs of sneakers should be enough for a player to wear for a season, right?

Enough. Six pairs of sneakers are enough for one season. Chen Maikang nodded.

Since there is no need to spend money, the team and players should not have a lot of resistance.

And the quality of Feiyue sneakers is really good. Brands that can survive in the United States have a lot of American sneaker technology in them, which are definitely much better than domestic sneakers.

To put it another way, Kobe, Carter, Tracy McGrady and other NBA superstars can wear them. As a CBA player, what qualifications do you have to dislike?

The matter of forcing to wear sponsor sneakers is exactly what the title sponsors of later generations did.

Originally, foreign players could wear sneakers from other brands, but Chinese players could only wear sneakers from CBA sponsors.

The opposition to this player is relatively loud, and a big-name star even threw his shoes in protest. So this is a rather controversial policy.

The final rules have been reformed to allow players to wear sneakers of other brands, but an additional part of the fee must be paid as a buyout fee for the sneakers, which is regarded as compensation for the title sponsor, and the logo of the sneakers must also be covered up.

In this way, players can wear the shoes of their own sponsors, and CBA also has an extra income.

As far as this rule of mandatory wearing of sneakers is concerned, it is indeed a bit overbearing, but the sponsors of the CBA still welcome this kind of rule. Therefore, the CBA of later generations can receive more than 700 million sponsorship fees a year.

Business operations focus on the word interest, just like the NBA, which is originally a business. As long as the interests of sponsors can be protected, there is no need to worry that sponsors will not invest money, and with sufficient funds, the league will have the confidence to develop.

Sports can talk about ideals, youth, will, and spirit, but as long as it enters the category of professional sports, there is nothing in the world that does not talk about money!

Sports training is inherently expensive. Behind every successful athlete, there is a huge economic investment. It is impossible to cultivate high-level athletes by just using love to generate electricity, and there will be no high-level professional leagues.

Now Li Weidong directly copied this rule, of course, the purpose is to ensure the maximization of sponsorship income.

In the NBA, if you want players to wear your sneakers, you have to spend a lot of money. A Sean Battier has to pay more than one million US dollars, and the endorsement of those star players is hundreds of millions. The sum of all NBA players is absolutely astronomical.

And even if it costs money, other stars don't like it or don't wear it. For example, Carter, who is uncomfortable wearing Puma shoes, just changed to another brand.

But in the CBA, you only need to spend 16.67 million yuan to get all the players to wear your sneakers, and give away the naming rights for free, which is simply too valuable!

Looking at the professional leagues around the world, where can you find such good things?

What's more, Feiyue Sports is not that kind of unknown sports brand. After all, it is the top five brand of sneakers in the United States. It is a high-end product in the CBA league. There should not be too much resistance between players and teams. would even be very welcome.

After all, the CBA league in that era was just commercialized, and the salaries of the players were not very large. Many players themselves had the establishment of the provincial team. On weekdays, they had to get paid as if they were going to work, and the sneakers were also distributed by the team. If there is a big brand willing to sponsor sneakers, it is naturally impossible.

A CBA player will give you the same basketball shoes as Kobe, Carter, or Tracy McGrady. Even if you don't like it, at least you are embarrassed to say that the shoes are not good.

And many players, who are also fans of these stars, give them a pair of star autographed boots, maybe they will happily wear them on their feet and play more vigorously.

Seeing that Chen Maikang agreed to this request, Li Weidong went on to talk about the second condition: Director Chen, the second requirement is that I hope that the Basketball Association can draw a line and let Dayao of the Oriental Team become our Feiyue Sports team. representative.

Chen Maikang was stunned for a moment, and then said, You can talk to the Dongfang team or Dayao himself directly about advertising endorsements. Why do we need our basketball association to connect with them? Our basketball association never cares about this kind of thing. things.

Dayao's situation is quite special. He will enter the NBA in the future, and then it will be related to the Basketball Association. Li Weidong replied with a smile.

Chen Maikang rolled his eyes and immediately understood what Li Weidong meant.

The distribution of bonuses and advertising endorsements for Chinese athletes is clearly stipulated.

The first is personal income tax, which has certain deductions and exemptions. Prize money for some major competitions, such as the Olympics, is exempt from personal income tax.

10% of the competition bonus for individual projects will be donated to the National Sports Fund, which is handed over to the General Administration of Sport. 30% of the reward fund is used to train and deliver the athlete unit, and the remaining 60% is for the athlete's own team, which includes the athlete himself, relevant coaches and related personnel.

For the competition bonus of the collective project, 10% will be given to the National Sports Fund, 20% will be given to the unit that trains and transport athletes, and 70% will be given to the team of athletes. UU reading www.uukanshu.com

The money earned by athletes going abroad to play professional leagues is also equivalent to game bonuses, and some of them will be turned over to the country.

So when Dayao went to play in the United States, part of his income was handed over to the Basketball Association, and another part was given to the Dongfang team that cultivated Dayao.

As for the advertising endorsement fee, there are also express regulations. For example, the athletes of the national team will get 50% of the endorsement fee themselves, and the rest will be allocated by the national team and the athlete delivery unit.

After all, what Chinese sports pursues is a national system. From grassroots sports schools, to provincial sports teams, to national teams, every level of unit has to spend money. So when athletes can bring economic benefits, every level also has a share of the pie.

Chairman Yao went to play in the NBA. Although he played in a commercial league, he was always inseparable from the domestic basketball association. There are various interests involved, including the athletes themselves, the Basketball Association, the Eastern Team, and local governments.

Therefore, it would be better to seek the endorsement of Chairman Yao and coordinate through the Basketball Association.

Feiyue Sports only pays the money and distributes the specific benefits. Li Weidong does not want to participate. Let the relevant stakeholders discuss it on their own!