The top athletes of today are totally awe-inspiring. The kind of skill, effort, strength, capabilities, dedication, and ethics they showcase nowadays for the goals they seriously set for themselves takes the bar of human achievement to another level with each passing year.
They have become quite close to the pedestal we keep for our superheroes. For many, they are also role models, someone they look up to during any sphere of life. Starting from broken families in their childhood to severe ailments that could risk their careers to recovering from other struggles in order to climb the ladder of success, their stories are incredible portrayals of resilience, discipline, consistency, and hard work.
Sports stars are the ultimate inspiration in this country. So, if you are looking for a way to motivate your target audience for something, you must hire a sports star. Make them motivational speakers for your internal meetings and events, fundraisers, sports gala, or even the opening of a business conference.
But the question that has come to many of your minds and very rightly so, after reading so far would be How much does it cost to hire a sports star?
Appearance Charges
Hiring an athlete for appearance comes with a price. However harsh it might sound, the truth is most of the sports stars who give motivational speeches in this circle has a set amount that he or she charges for various kinds of services.
Right from a simple keynote speaker, VIP meet, or book signing to a keynote and audience or moderated Q&A session or even a combination of these comes with a standard fee.
This fee is dependent on the potential of the sports star. Now, how will you determine the potential of a sportsperson and decide if he or she is worth that set amount or not? You have to consider a number of factors first.
Think of the biggest athletes these days, like Aaron Rodgers or Clayton Kershaw, who are not quite available for these personal appearances and engagements during the actual season and even the pre-season training. Their clout during the offseason hurls them to a 6-figure range of budget for such appearances.
On the other hand, if you look at retired sports personalities, you will realize that they are much more readily available for such events. Their standard fees will depend on the kind of activities they have been doing after their career in this field along with the sort of relevance they still hold in the market.
Michael Phelps, Magic Johnson, and Peyton Manning and their likes still have the potential to demand a 6-figure fee for their appearances and budget owing to their strong influence in the field.
Having said so, you must also remember sports stars like Abby Wambach, Mark Spitz, or Lou Holtz who do not have such a looming presence in the market which has cut down their value for such events and appearances. Since they have been common in the motivational speaker circle, they are not as expensive as the others.
Olympians are the topmost keynote speakers when it comes to sports personalities. People want to hire them for any season as they possess the name and fame strong enough to create a buzz and continue to remain relevant for long, with open schedules generally outside the months that lead to and during the Olympic games.
With a number of speakers in the market for sports stars, determining the speaker fees can be quite a risk. The right approach would be to speak to an agent from any kind of celebrity speakers forum who can secure a decent fee rapidly and even help in negotiation if needed. Regardless of your budget, you will surely find a suitable sports star for your event.
Transportation & Accommodation
If you are looking for a sports star or athlete who is not local, you will have to look after their travel expenses which include their flight tickets, hotel reservations, and car services to and fro, from the hotel to the event and again from the event back to their hotel.
The advantage of hiring local sports personalities lies in the fact that you will be able to reduce your travel expenses. You might just have to pay for their professional car service. But again, you must take note of the time of your event.
If it gets too late to end the event, the speaker might need a couple of hours to drive home so he or she might request an arrangement for a night's stay in the hotel for one night.
There are two ways to cover the travels for your sports star speaker. Firstly, you can ask for a travel buyout where you make an upfront payment and the sportspersons themselves make all the booking within that amount.
It will save you time in the process of logistics, but you might be able to save more money if you make the bookings yourself. Secondly, if you book yourself, you can discuss the preferred timings and specific airlines with the sports star and book the flights, car services, and the hotel.
You might be able to use any kind of special discount your company is privy to like flight rewards or hotel rooms that you have already paid for or blocked for the event at a discounted price.
Now the costs might increase for the crew of the sportsperson coming for your motivational speech. If the athlete is not coming alone and has an assistant, manager, or even their spouse, you will have to arrange for their stay as well. Try to find out this information at the earliest so that you can plan accordingly.
Promotions & Event Executions
We see some sports personalities publicly as athletes. We watch them as they compete with each other, in person as well as on the television. Being affiliated with a plethora of brands, you can see them in a number of endorsements as well.
If you look at clothing brands, Nike has some major endorsements with a huge number of sportspersons, including basketball players like Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Car labels like BMW are endorsed by Usain Bolt, the slayer of speed. Tennis players also have their hands full of endorsements like Anna Kournikova with Omega watches, Andre Agassi with Canon, or Serena Williams with Pepsi. Some sports stars have their own brands, which makes it even more complex.
Celebrity endorsements are endless. You have to still be aware of the brand affiliations your sports stars are associated with before planning your event. There could arise a conflict of interest if by mistake you hand over a packaged drinking water from a competitor brand or make them travel in another rival vehicle brand.
It can be a little cumbersome but since they have also invested a lot in such endorsements, you have to be a little careful. Do your research thoroughly and try to gather as much branding information as possible.
The next concern would be how you plan to promote your event. You will need to spread the word about the event so that more and more people come to know about it. You can create banners, use social media posts, or send email blasts. If you have an in-house agency to help you with this kind of marketing solution, then nothing like it! But if you do not, then you will have to look for a company to create these for you.
Without the right kind of promotion, nobody will come to hear the motivational speech. That is why you should always try to put your best foot forward for creating the right buzz. You will also have to see that the investment you have done to hire a celebrity sports speaker is worth it and the marketing budget you have is used properly for the purpose you have in mind.
Respectful Treatment
Everybody wants to explore when visiting new places. A number of sports stars would want to explore the city and have a good time when they visit. Sometimes, they might even ask you to accompany them or even arrange it for them.
Whether you are going sightseeing with them or taking them out to dinner, you must understand it is still business and you must maintain proper decorum. Think before speaking and be on your best behavior. What you say and how you behave with them will determine a long-lasting bond with them.
And whatever be the expenses for this, they should be on the company's account. On the other hand, if your celebrity speaker prefers to enjoy a quiet night, you must respect their preference and accommodate them properly for their needs.
Talent Resources Sports athlete marketing agency in NYC provides any celebrity speakers’ forum to find the right motivational speaker from the sports sphere. We will not just help you hire athletes for appearance. We will help you control the cost of hiring them as well. We will ensure your event is a grand success with an amazing sports personality!