Chapter 409 Undercurrents Judging
from various signs, Crocodile has not shown any competitiveness in the pursuit of signing Gao Wen, and the current Crocodile seems lifeless and lacks vitality. Although it has reached an official cooperation with the French Open, it has never been able to show more courage in signing players.
To be honest, the crocodile's layout on the golf course is obviously much more proactive.
When Gao Wen emerged at the US Open, Crocodiles also believed that the strategic position of Europe and America should be more important, and that they could wait for the Asian market, so they had no intention of approaching him actively and just watched the excitement.
but!
Knox's unexpected move suddenly broke the deadlock and stirred up trouble while other brands were watching silently.
In fact, brands have now reached a silent consensus: there is no need to rush.
It has become clear since Gao Wen advanced to the top 32 that this hot new star is definitely worth looking forward to. There is definitely more than one competitor, but everyone is holding back for the time being:
On the one hand, he needs to see how high Gawain can reach, and on the other hand, he wants to avoid his competitors from seeing his cards.
On the surface, everything seems calm and harmonious, but in reality, there are undercurrents and conflicts.
result?
The crocodile, who had been watching the situation quietly, took the first step and broke the calm without any moral principles. His move was so powerful that the balance was instantly tipped.
To be honest, the sponsorship fees in the field of tennis are not insignificant. In the Forbes list of the top ten most profitable female players in all competitive sports worldwide, tennis directly occupies seven seats; while there are relatively fewer male players, but there are always two positions in the top ten:
Federer and Nadal.
Overall, the endorsement fees for tennis are still very high, and in addition to endorsements, the prize money for professional tennis tournaments is among the highest among all sports in the world.
Taking this year's US Open as an example, the prize money for the men's singles champion is 3 million US dollars, setting a new record high. If you can also win the US Open series championship, you can win an additional 1 million US dollars; the runner-up prize is also 1.45 million US dollars.
After reaching the quarterfinals, Gao Wen will receive a bonus of $370,000 regardless of whether he wins or loses the next game.
This is undoubtedly a noble sport.
However, considering that there are so many players engaged in professional tennis, major brands need to cast a wide net, so only a few people can win top endorsement contracts. Like Federer, who signed a ten-year contract with Nike for $12 million a year, he is the only one.
The most intuitive example is Bouchard. After reaching the semi-finals of both the Australian Open and the French Open, she went one step further and reached the final of Wimbledon. This tennis beauty emerged like a comet. Nike and Adidas fought for her endorsement contract, and Nike finally won her with a figure of one million US dollars per year.
Everyone exclaimed! Tobias was trying to secure a $500,000 annual sponsorship contract for Gawain. Although Gawain's performance was not as outstanding as Bouchard's, he had the Chinese market behind him and was the only one who had created countless historical records. He believed that Gawain's sudden emergence was completely worthy of such a price.
Even though he was lacking a little when he won three consecutive Challenger titles before, Tobias firmly believed that Gawain deserved such treatment after winning two consecutive games at the US Open.
However! Knox showed courage and determination, asking for $700,000 a year, and signing a five-year contract, a sponsorship contract of $3.5 million, which not only reached Tobias' psychological bottom line, but also surpassed it, fully demonstrating the sincerity and determination of the crocodile -
In the match against Wawrinka, Gao Wen's performance was indeed commendable.
Tobias was a little moved. To be more precise, he was very moved.
Although Tobias calmly said "let's discuss it" when facing Knox and showed no signs of being convinced, he was actually almost convinced.
Numbers are one thing, sincerity is another. Compared with the hesitant and wait-and-see attitude of Adidas and Nike, Crocodile's courage is particularly precious, especially after experiencing many twists and turns in the past two months, the feeling is even more profound. No wonder Tobias, who has seen countless storms, was moved.
Taking a step back, Tobias also believes that the price of Crocodile has almost reached the ceiling. Even with the support of the Chinese market, it is difficult for Adidas and Nike to break the annual cap of US$700,000. At most, the details of the contract and the benefits may be slightly different. After all, Gao Wen's professional resume is still too short.
In comparison, when Djokovic signed with the Crocodile in 2017, he had 12 Grand Slam titles and joined the ranks of Federer and Nadal, reaching the top of all four Grand Slams to achieve the Grand Slam feat. The final contract was for five years and $40 million, which means an average of $8 million per year.
Then look at Gao Wen's offer and you will know how much courage Knox has shown.
Unless... Gao Wen can really make it to the semi-finals or even the finals, then he can try again.
This is also the key to Tobias's hesitation.
However, after a brief conversation with Gawain, Tobias realized that he was still "cowardly". His hesitation and indecision were because he felt Knox's courage and because he lacked confidence in Gawain deep in his heart.
Then, Tobias suppressed his hesitation and decided to give it one more try.
It’s better to dream bigger.
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After sorting out his thoughts, Tobias regained his composure and watched the game with Gawain, and then both applauded Raonic.
In the first set, Raonic took the lead with a key break at the end of the set, "6:4".
Then, Gao Wen did not stay in the player lounge any longer, but returned to the hotel. He needed to summarize and think about today's five-set battle, and he also needed to organize what he learned from Wawrinka. Only in this way could the content of the game become nourishment for his own growth.
Tennis is definitely not something that can be learned simply by training. If you don't know how to think and learn, it will be very difficult to gain a foothold and reach the top among the strong competition among top players.
The night matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium were still in full swing. Obviously, the audience was in luck tonight. After Azarenka reached the deciding set in the first night match, Raonic and Kei Nishikori also fought all the way to the deciding set. The two sides presented an incredible five-set battle. In the end -
"4:6", "7:6(4)", "6:7(6)", "7:5", "6:4".
Like Gao Wen, Kei Nishikori lost the first set and was trailing 1:2 in the overall score, but he won the final set with a score of 6:4 to defeat Raonic and advance to the quarterfinals.
When the game ended, it was close to midnight local time. Both players had played to their full potential and worked together to complete this thrilling duel.
Then--
"Asian Showdown" is about to begin!
Cheers broke out everywhere! At the same time, Knox's sudden rise to power also set off a thousand waves. As the battle progressed, it evolved into a stormy sea. A commercial war without gunpowder was being launched in Flushing! (End of this chapter)