How England’s golden girls will cash in on their World Cup run: Lionesses will ‘command up to £500,000’ in brand, TV and book deals with No 1 Mary Earps on her way to a £1million
- Branding and PR gurus claim it has ‘never been a better time to be a Lioness’
England’s heroic squad of Lionesses can now ‘command up to £500,000’ through lucrative branding deals after reaching the World Cup final, PR gurus have said – with fan favourite Mary Earps ‘well on her way’ to earning ‘more than a million’.
Sarina Wiegman’s squad’s stunning success is likely to see players reaping in huge endorsement deals with major companies eager to capitalise on the Lionesses’ ‘positive role model’ status during a ‘golden window of opportunity’.
Branding experts predicted stars could expect to bag TV and book deals worth hundreds of thousands – with some potentially netting themselves huge endorsements from fashion giants and celebrities keen to get a Lioness on board.
PR guru Sean O’Meara said it’s ‘never been a better time to be a Lioness’, while Nick Ede, brand and culture expert, claimed England’s own golden goalkeeper Mary Earps could soon lead the pack after being hailed the best goalie at the World Cup.
‘The Lionesses can command up to half a million during this golden window of opportunity for them,’ he told MailOnline. ‘Like with any group of people there will always be ones that brands pick out and want more than others and I can see that Mary could be well on her way to making over a million with brand endorsements, public speaking engagements and TV deals too.’
Sarina Wiegman’s squad’s stunning success is likely to see players reaping in huge endorsement deals with major companies eager to capitalise on the Lionesses’ ‘positive role model’ status (the team is pictured after their semi-final win)
And England’s heroic goalkeeper Mary Earps could be ‘well on her way’ to making ‘more than a million pounds’ following her performance in the World Cup, which saw her being awarded the coveted Golden Gloves award as she was named the best keeper in the tournament
The Lionesses celebrated reaching their maiden World Cup final, and England’s first in nearly 60 years, by dancing to Sweet Caroline today -with PR gurus claiming the squad were now admired as role models for young girls and women
He claimed fashion and cosmetic brands will be looking to sign up the Lionesses, with social media plugs by England players potentially netting them between £5,000 and £10,000 a post – with a six-month deal earning upwards of £100,000.
READ MORE: Arise, ‘Mary Queen of Stops’ Earps: Petition calling for Nike to overturn decision not to sell England goalie’s shirt hits 70,000 as Lioness is hailed stand out heroine of the match – but PR experts say she will have the last laugh
He added Earps ‘shone’ during the World Cup and that although Nike refused to print her team shirt, it was now a ‘golden opportunity for other disruptor brands to come in and scoop her up as a brand ambassador’.
‘As a positive role model she has a really big chance of making a lot of money in many categories from cosmetics brands, lifestyle and healthcare brands too,’ Mr Ede said.
‘The big players who have lots of money to spend like insurance companies and banks will love her for brand recognition and positive impact. I can also see someone like Kim Kardashian utilising them to further her Skims brand in the UK and cement its inclusive message.’
The brand expert said the reason the Lionesses were so ‘attractive’ to business and advertisers was because they had a ‘clean and positive inclusive attitude’ which was ‘very appealing’.
‘I can see one or two of them walking down the catwalk at London Fashion Week for a big fashion house, perhaps Victoria Beckham,’ he added.
‘As role models they are the perfect players for car brands looking to encourage female purchasers and I can see household names like Persil wanting to jump on the brand bandwagon and sign them up too.’
The Lioness’s image as role models for women and girls is something branding experts say is hotly sought after by major companies looking to capitalise on the squad’s World Cup success (the England team is pictured during the final of the tournament)
Some Lionesses are expected to rake in hundreds of thousands of pounds through lucrative brand deals and endorsements, PR experts have claimed.
PR expert Sean O’Meara told MailOnline there had ‘never been a better time’ to be a Lioness – and predicted top players in the squad could make huge amounts of cash.
‘I expect some of the squad will be signing deals worth millions. I also think shows like Strictly Come Dancing will be sniffing around,’ he told MailOnline.
‘Even though they lost the final, record-breaking viewing figures and positive audience sentiment toward the England team brand mean that commercially there’s never been a better time to be a Lioness. They’ll need to strike while their irons are hot though.’
He said Earps could enjoy the sort of branding success of USA goalkeeper Hope Solo, who bagged major deals with Nike, Simple, Seiko and Bank of America during her 16 years with the American national side.
Mr O’Meara added that Nike’s decision not to sell replicas of Earps’ shirt was a huge miscalculation by the fashion giant – as he predicted the 30-year-old Manchester United star would benefit from it.
Mary Earps, England’s keeper, was awarded the Golden Glove trophy following her efforts during the Women’s World Cup
‘There’s an opportunity brewing,’ he added. ‘Nike have sort of, but not quite, apologised already and have vaguely committed to “solutions”, but when a hero like Mary is snubbed like that, there will be a savvy brand – not necessarily a sportswear brand – ready to sweep in and throw their weight behind her.
‘I think in the long run she’ll benefit from what’s happened, with more opportunities than she would have enjoyed had Nike just released her shirt.
‘It is still a huge shame that Nike dropped the ball, but if Mary is well-advised she could stand to make millions from commercial partnerships.’
And PR and reputation expert Andy Barr said rival sports giants like Adidas, Puma or Under Armour, would be keen to snap up Earps – and could pay in excess of £1million to have her support.
‘Other sporting brands will be keen to not only associate themselves with the show-stopping shot-stopper but also, if they were to also create a goalkeeping shirt range around her personal brand, then it would be a surefire best seller,’ he told MailOnline.
‘Brands like Pepsi, McDonalds, and TikTok will also be analysing the global appeal and marketability of our women’s footballers to see if signing them up will help widen the brand reach, and if so, you can expect more big money offers to flow in.’
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