The state of the athlete/endorsement industry is solid, according to members of Tuesday’s final panel, “Aligning Athletes with Brands,” but the relationships are becoming more focused and, perhaps, more geared toward top athletes.

“I think it’s more rifle than shotgun,” said Tom Shine, senior vice president of sports marketing and entertainment at Reebok. “You have to get the right athlete in the right situation with the right morals and values.”

Aligning with the right athlete was an overarching theme of the panel, including meeting the needs of both brands and players as it relates to available time and financial ambition, as well as risk.

“Athletes are human beings,” said Bob Cramer, who as vice president of sports marketing with Glaceau recently added Kobe Bryant to the Vitaminwater roster. “They get hurt, their talent will go down and they’re going to do stupid things. As someone who is heavily invested in athletes as a component of our strategy, we always have to protect ourselves.”

For MasterCard, which chooses more conservative endorsers such as Arnold Palmer and Peyton Manning, it’s about minimizing risk for a brand that does not want to appear edgy. “It’s always going to come down to what is your brand and what is it trying to say,” said Michael Robichaud, vice president of global sponsorships for MasterCard International.

U.S. Olympian Dara Torres and her agent, Evan Morgenstein, offered a first-hand opinion on potential risks to brands, drawing on Torres’ experience being questioned about her age and performance. Morgenstein said he was so angered by some stories speculating about the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Torres that he asked one writer to step outside to discuss their opposing viewpoints. Most people cheat for money and fame, he said, “and they want it more than their reputation, and I’ve never known Dara to be that way.” Torres, who volunteered for more stringent levels of drug testing than mandated by USADA, said, “It was worth it to show that I’m clean, but it’s a shame you have to do that because you can’t look people in the eye and just say you’re clean.”

Continuing endorsement success for Olympians was a hot topic, with most participants up in the air about the future of Michael Phelps as a viable endorser. Shine was hopeful that Phelps will remain relevant, but compared him to Mark Spitz. “He flat disappeared as soon as the Olympics were over and he was never seen from again,” said Shine.

Injuries were another topic of conversation, with WWE’s Ethan Green pointing out that his client, John Cena, had more time available for corporate appearances while on the shelf with injuries. Another injured athlete, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, has seen some lift from dating supermodel Gisele Bundchen, said Russ Spielman, founder of The Agency.

Digits
4 — Number of categories that Evan Morgenstein, inadvertent or not, advertised as available for his client, Dara Torres, including menopause and allergy medication.

4-7-09 — Release date of Torres’ book, as announced by Morgenstein.

68 — percent of the audience that selected Tiger Woods as the most effective athlete endorser. No other athlete received more than 10 percent of the vote.