No, that headline does not come from the Onion. You may be surprised to know that ranking comes from a recent report from Nielsen/E-Poll.
Nielsen, a global marketing and advertising research company, primarily known for their television ratings, put together their list of most marketable players based on their N-Score.
The N-Score measures name and image awareness, appeal and personality attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience and influence, both at the U.S. national and local levels.
Using the combined research expertise of Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research, N-Score is an in-depth look at a sports figure’s overall endorsement potential, factoring in the attributes and demographic measures that align brands with endorsers
San Antonio Spurs’ Duncan’s N-Score in 51, good enough for fifth behind Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Kevin Garnett.
Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol and Vince Carter round out the top ten.
Surprisingly not on the list are Miami Heat teammates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. James’ N-Score fell from 131 to 26 and Wade’s fell from 117 to 34.
Stephen Master, VP of Nielsen Sports, said endorsement potential is about more than consumer awareness.
While it’s a little surprising to see the oft-unappreciated Duncan make a top ten list for the NBA’s Most Marketable, Duncan’s jersey continues to be one of the top sellers in the NBA and was listed in the top 10 most popular jerseys by the NBA Store during their 10th anniversary.
Perhaps those H-E-B commercials are paying off.
(H/T John at Reds Army)
