“The sponsors who made Novak $ 30 million last year responded. At the moment, they mostly support Serb or remain silent after the world’s best tennis player was excluded from the Australian Open,” Forbes reads.
Most remain silent or want to continue
Raiffeisen Bank International said in a statement that it will continue to sponsor Djokovic. “Our decision was made long before the current news on Novak, its COVID-19 vaccination status and participation in the Australian Open,” the Austrian bank said.
A similar opinion was expressed by Hublot, a manufacturer of luxury watches. “Djoković decides for himself. We cannot comment on his personal decisions,” said the Swiss watch company.
French clothing company Lacoste is the only sponsor who doubts further cooperation with the tennis player. “We will contact Novak as soon as possible to analyze what happened in Australia. We wish everyone a successful tournament and thank the organizers for all their efforts to make the tournament run in good conditions for players, staff and spectators” – we read in the message.
Other Serb sponsors – Asics, Head, Lemero, NetJets, Peugeot and Ultimate Software Group – did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
– For me, such a reaction of sponsors is understandable. Firms are very surprised by the scale of the crisis. Neither of them knows how to behave. They have a huge image problem. On the one hand, they know that the majority of their consumers are conscious, socially responsible, pro-vaccine people. On the other hand, they have a very valuable marketing and sports asset in the form of Djokovic. They signed contracts with him, correlated with the company’s strategy, created advertising campaigns – says Sport.pl Grzegorz Kita, a specialist in the field of sports marketing and consulting.
– It is natural that most sponsors prefer to remain silent, do not want to be exposed to the shot, try to wait. However, I believe that if a tennis player decides not to vaccinate and the “drama” around him continues, sponsors will rather look for evacuation routes from cooperation with the Serb or a strong limitation of relations and exposure. This case has become too high-profile globally and concerns a pandemic, a problem that is too topical and will not stop quickly, our interlocutor predicts.
Will he not play in the Grand Slam?
On Saturday, the Australian Federal Court upheld the government’s decision to cancel Novak Djokovic’s visa. The Serb had to leave, and the deportation from this country and the inability to participate in the Australian Open are not the only problems of the leader of the ranking. It is not certain whether Djoković will be able to play in the other three Grand Slam tournaments this year.
On Monday, the French Ministry of Sports announced that tennis players wishing to participate in the Roland Garros will need a covid passport. Earlier, however, “Der Spiegiel” announced that Djoković as unvaccinated will be able to play in Paris. In April, there will be presidential elections in France and this issue may still be under discussion.
Djoković will probably be able to play at Wimbledon. “Travelers to the UK do not need to be vaccinated if they test negative within two days of arrival and are quarantined for 10 days. However, it is still unclear whether Wimbledon will require immunization (organizers have not responded to a request for comment in this case), but last year the players were not asked to show proof of vaccination, and the tournament authorities did not indicate that they would change their policy, “Forbes reads.
The Serb’s biggest problems may be with his performance at the US Open. “Almost all foreign visitors going to the US must prove that they are fully vaccinated. There are exceptions, but most of them do not seem to apply to Djokovic,” The Washington Post reads.
How much can Djoković lose?
$ 8.18 million – at least this is what Djoković could lose in 2022 if he does not participate in any of the four Grand Slam events. The best tennis player will earn $ 2.06 million in this year’s Australian Open. In the previous year, the winners at Roland Garros received 1.69 million, at Wimbledon 1.93 million, and at the US Open 2.5 million.
As Forbes has calculated, Djoković earned $ 34.5 million in 2021, making him the 46th highest-paid athlete in the world. Novak Djoković is not the only outstanding competitor to express skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines. According to a Forbes study in December, 13 of the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes have not disclosed publicly whether or not they have been vaccinated.
However, the lack of vaccinations of athletes rarely affects their cooperation with sponsors. The exception is, among others Aaron Rodgers, American football star who lost his contract with Prevea Health. The Wisconsin health organization ended its nine-year partnership with Rodgers after the quarterback spread false information about vaccines.
Djoković earned over $ 154 million on the court throughout his career.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
