Rugby is the well-deserved number one ball in the United States, with far ahead in terms of commercial value and market share, not to mention the Super Bowl, which has more than 100 million viewers, just talking about the annual draft - the first day of live shows, the ratings exceed the NBA Finals and the MLB World Series.

Supremacy, no one can challenge!

However, compared to the popularity and influence of rugby, the income of players is really a bit shabby, and the annual salary of FL's top superstar players may only be 20 million; In the NBA, it abounds, and it can only be regarded as average.

Currently, Nike's endorsement contracts for football players are up to $2.5 million a year, and many players, including Payton Manning, have contracts of this level. That's the top level, and in front of LeBron James' billion-dollar contract, it's the difference between a kindergarten kid and a top giant.

Why?

Why is rugby the number one sport in North America, yet the difference in player earnings is so wide? Theoretically, this is simply unscientific, even contrary to the law, and such differences between players in the NBA and NFL have been repeatedly discussed; But from a market perspective, this is perfectly normal.

The reason is not complicated: there are too many players. This is the primary factor in the existence of the gap.

On the basketball court, there are only five players, and the total number of players in a team is up to fifteen; But in rugby, there are 53 players per team, at least 25 starters alone, and at least 40 rotation players are guaranteed to play every game.

In 2010, Chinese player Wang Kai joined Buffalo Bills through the draft, becoming the first Chinese player in history to join the league; However, Wang Kai's existence has never been able to stir up waves, why? On the one hand, because Wang Kai is an offensive tackle, the attention is generally not high; On the other hand, because Wang Kai is not a starter, he is just a rotation player.

In a game, there are 40 players in rotation, or even more, and how can a player make waves if he only plays one or two offensive gears, or occasionally appears as a special service player, and the commentators are not even familiar with the player's number.

Wang Kai's rookie season only appeared as a rotation player in six games; Lu Ke was the same in the preseason, as a rotation player, he participated in more than a dozen offsets, and he was not able to cause too many waves at all.

In the regular season, Lu Ke was able to cause so much controversy, the quarterback was part of the reason, and the starting point was another part of the reason. The number of rotations is too many, and the starters are very different, but even the starters are far more than the entire NBA team.

It is precisely because of this that in a football game, 53 people divide the commercial space, which naturally cannot be compared with the 15 people in a basketball game.

When a brand tries to use athlete endorsements to connect with consumers, baseball and football have too many players in supply, which leads to a drop in their contract prices; Basketball players and individual athletes, especially tennis and golf, are always able to get a higher price, and even player contracts in football have more room to dig into.

In addition, the price gap between the NFL and the NBA sponsorship endorsements is really appalling. Basketball players may be hundreds of millions, but football players can't even get tens of millions of contracts, and part of the reason is that the characteristics of the sneaker consumer market are caused.

Rugby boots, like soccer boots, are spiked shoes, which are very professional and purposeful, which makes it impossible for the general audience to wear them in their daily lives; Correspondingly, basketball shoes are approachable, and people can freely choose basketball shoes as daily shoes, which is destined to have an essential difference in the market base.

Not only that, the popularity of rugby is also lower than that of football, and many amateur rugby enthusiasts can choose football boots as rugby shoes - especially rugby shoes, there is no problem with using football boots; But American football shoes have longer and deeper spikes and a different distribution of positions.

To put it simply, the more professional it is, the narrower the audience. Ninety out of 100 people may be willing to buy basketball shoes, but one out of 100 people buys football shoes, which is very rare.

As a result, the amount of the sponsorship endorsement contract is very different.

In fact, Under Armour faced the same problem. Making football shoes, they are professional, even more professional than Nike, and in the NFL, there are not a few players who are willing to choose Under Armour; However, under armour, the production of other sneakers, basketball shoes or running shoes, is far from professional, and the task of opening up market share is extremely difficult.

In real life, not only sponsorship endorsements, but also the salary level of NFL players is also far inferior to that of the NBA, in addition to the huge player base, there is also the problem of salary caps. However, this is another story, Lu Ke, as a rookie player, does not need to think about salary for the time being, and the fastest will be two years later.

Therefore, the sponsorship contract of $250,000 per year is not sky-high, and it is even more insignificant in the NBA; But for Lu Ke, he was already satisfied.

Incidentally, as rugby agents, they also suffer from "unfair" treatment.

In Major League Baseball, agents can take a 5 percent cut; Both the ice hockey league and the basketball league are four percent; But rugby is only three percent, the lowest amount.

Don't forget, though, that the NFL has the most players.

The NBA has only about 500 players in the league, while the NFL has more than 2,000 players. In other words, a football agent can win more with less, and the top agent can represent 10 or 20 players, and their income will be full of NBA.

That's what makes Lech Steinberg different.

For a long time, Lech only represented one player, and the commission was also 3 percent, without the slightest increase in the price because of the small number of players; But as the most authoritative top broker in the industry, Lech has his own brokerage company, and his agents also adhere to the route of less but finer, so he is still one of the richest brokers in the industry.

Looking at Lu Ke, who was in a good state of mind in front of him, Lech couldn't help but joke, "Do you remember what I said when I signed you?" "I fancy Lu Ke's commercial value." How's that, now you believe it again, right? ”

Lu Ke laughed dumbly, and then made a joke, "Just with a contract of $250,000? "It seems to be disgusting, and the commercial value is really too low.

Lech closed the smile at the corner of his mouth and deliberately put on a serious posture, "Don't underestimate this start." As the only Chinese-American player in the entire league, and even an Asian player...... Ah, no, the only Asian player to start—"

As a senior agent, Lech naturally knows Wang Kai. However, this season, Wang Kai entered the injury list and was not in Buffalo Bills' 53-man squad, so his influence was naturally even weaker.

"Your business value is not something that can be measured by common sense." In the meeting just now, Sean was actually exploring Lu Ke's connection with Asia and thinking about future business promotion strategies, which was not idle talk. What's more, Lech has enough confidence in his own abilities and connections, "Let's wait and see what the future holds." ”

Perhaps, Lu Ke can be the first person to break the shackles of NFL salary, precisely because of his Chinese identity. Everything is a double-edged sword, people who don't understand may destroy the heavens, but those who know how to do it may create miracles, just like the first person to eat a crab, which may be a bad thing or a good thing.

However, this is just an idea, and all the premise is victory, victory after victory!

"The contract was handed over to me, and after the lawyer read it, we sorted out some important details, and then sat down to discuss it, and after confirming that it was correct, we signed it." "The main thing is the choice of equipment for different occasions, such as equipment on the training ground, for example, what to wear at press conferences, and so on, and the sponsors are always very attentive to these details. ”

"Isn't it because the alliance also has regulations?" Lu Ke asked suspiciously.

Lech smiled and nodded, "Look, you're getting used to it. "For sponsors, every link represents interests, and no one will easily compromise, which has also become a rule that every player must adapt to," Yes, the league also has rules, but under armour, like Nike, is an official sponsor of the league, and things are relatively less complicated. ”

"Don't worry, I'll take care of these things." Lech simply took the matter to himself, "Besides, I'm sure you know exactly what you're doing; But as a broker, it is my duty to remind you. You need to manage your bank accounts properly to keep yourself out of trouble as much as possible, as well as training, and make sure you stick to it. ”

Looking at Lehe with a sincere face, the smile on the corner of Lu Ke's mouth couldn't help but rise slightly, which made Lehe pause for a moment, "What's wrong?" Is there something wrong? ”

Lu Ke laughed out loud, "No, I just think it...... It turns out that owning a broker is such a feeling. ”

All along, Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning have been fully supporting Lu Ke to chase his dreams, but in the court and training, they can't help, Lu Ke can only rely on himself; Especially after entering the university, I completely relied on self-consciousness and self-discipline, planned the bits and pieces of my life, and walked to where I am today, step by step.

Now, all the chores inside and out are arranged by the agent, and the training is left to the coach of the team, and everything is in order.

"That's what I do." Lech shrugged his shoulders lightly and said calmly, "By the way, I noticed that you still live with your family; It's some distance from the team's training base, do you need to move? ”

"Yes, I never had time to look for an apartment. Can you help? ”

"Of course, it's my job."