Mbappe's Millions: The Breakout Star Of The 2018 World Cup Is Destined For Endorsement Riches

While the French Soccer Federation earned $38 million in prize money for winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup, their star teenage sensation, Kylian Mbappe, may soon be primed to earn in excess of $20 million annually in endorsements alone...provided he keeps a clean sheet off the pitch while continuing to perform exceptionally on it.

In France's 4-2 defeat of Croatia in Sunday's World Cup final, Mbappe, winner of the tournament "best young player" award, scored his team's fourth goal of the day as insurance.  Not only was that Mbappe's fourth goal of the tournament (thereby placing him in a tie for second-most goals this tournament, trailing only England's Harry Kane who tallied six goals in Russia), but his goal was the first by a teenager in a World Cup final since the great Pele scored twice against host Sweden in 1958...some 60 years ago!

Given his explosive style of play, youthfulness, good looks, and being a member of a World Cup championship side, one begins to wonder just how lucrative the endorsement market could become for Mbappe.

Forbes recently posted their "World's Richest Athletes" list, and 9 of the 100 athletes on the list were global soccer stars.  Ranking these stars by their estimated endorsement earnings, and including other relevant information which proxy a player's popularity and future marketability (e.g. age, Twitter followers, goals per game in club play, national club affiliation, wealth of current club, past club ties), I find the following:

Generally speaking, soccer players rank behind only basketball players as "team sports" athletes who do extremely well with endorsements.  Soccer is a global game, so star soccer players become global icons...which is a desirable characteristic for any corporation trying to portray or enhance their position as a global brand.  And, especially for goal scorers in soccer (since the frequency of goals scored is low, and thus, goal-scoring is a valuable asset with a flair for the dramatic), this leads to greater fanfare.

The data above is consistent with this assessment.  The two players who have far-and-away the highest goals per game at the club level (Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi) have, by far, the largest endorsement earnings of the soccer players on this list at $47 M and $27 M annually, respectively.

As a by-product of their scoring prowess, these athletes have played for some of the most prestigious club teams in the world (Ronaldo with Manchester United, then Real Madrid, and just recently signing with Juventus...while Messi has been with Barcelona for years).  Subsequently, this enhances their visibility and exposure.

Furthermore, from 2008 through 2017, Ronaldo and Messi have each won the award for FIFA's Best Male Player five times.

That Ronaldo earns more than Messi in endorsements could stem from a number of factors, all of which may be embodied by the fact that Ronaldo is active on social media...with an astounding 73.4 million Twitter followers.

The only other players on this list to average at least 0.6 goals per game are Neymar (Mbappe's teammate with Paris Saint-Germane of the top French League, Ligue 1) and Luis Suarez:

• While Neymar's $17 million annually in endorsements is impressive, and while he twice has finished third in Player of the Year voting, he still lags well behind Rinaldo and Messi in endorsements.
• Suarez has notoriously been involved in some bizarre on-field behavior (specifically, biting opponents...both at the club level as well as the national level at the 2014 World Cup).  This unquestionably has hurt his commercial appeal.

THE MARKET FOR MBAPPE

Speaking of Twitter, if it's any indication how a championship can propel one's visibility, Mbappe's Twitter followers jumped from 1.4 million to 1.65 million over the last 72 hours.  Hence, being a World Champion will enhance his profile.  That said, being an active participant in building one's brand and followers through social media will play an important role in just how global the Mbappe brand becomes.

He also has shown a prowess for scoring goals.  While his overall average is 0.4125 goals per game, this rises to 0.5 GPG when focusing on his two full seasons.  So that ability to be an explosive game-changer with flair bodes well for his future endorsement prospects.

While the projected jump in excess of $20 million in annual endorsements won't likely occur overnight, he's already accomplished something which no one else (except French teammate Paul Pogba) can boast...being a World Cup winner.

However, it is my long-term view that for him to truly cash in on his rising fame, he will eventually have to play for one of the best sides in England or Spain to maximize his value...since those two leagues are the most visible globally.

He is under contract with PSG through 2022, and this will cap his endorsement marketability since Ligue 1 is not on par with the Premiereship or La Liga in the eyes of global soccer enthusiasts and global corporations alike.

But if he continues to be a standout for PSG, if he helps France to deep runs in both the 2020 European Championships and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, if he actively engages in his own brand enhancement on social media, and if he eventually plays his club soccer in England or Spain, expect Mbappe to earn millions more in corporate endorsements...eclipsing the $20 million mark annually.

For by then, he may assume the mantle as the world's greatest player.