Kylian Mbappe’s global standing recently earned him a new personal sponsorship deal with Panini, the trading cards and memorabilia brand, to add to his earnings from brands such as Dior, Oakley, Nike, Electronic Arts and Sorare, estimated by GlobalData to be worth over $16 million a year. In light of this success the leading data and analytics company has highlighted five ways that elite sports stars such as Mbappe can enhance their sponsorship earnings.

GlobalData forecasts that an individual athlete could earn over $100 million per annum from sponsorship deals over the next few years. Roger Federer, LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo are currently the highest earning athletes from personal sponsorship deals making between $50 and 80 million a year from the top brands. The company’s Sport Statistics and Market Data insights offers an overview of the top brands sponsoring a range of global sports and individual athletes from soccer to baseball.

Jake Kemp, Sports Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “For elite sports stars like Mbappe their marketability means that they can achieve sponsorship deals approaching or even surpassing their already dizzyingly high club wages. His new contract with PSG reportedly earns him one of the biggest wages in world soccer, with estimates fluctuating between $50 and 70 million a year. Over the next few seasons, as his appeal grows, his $16 million a year sponsorship earnings are likely to double, bringing him more in-line with leading soccer stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.”

Five ways GlobalData observes that elite sports stars such as Mbappe maintain the interest of big brands and increase their earnings from individual sponsorship deals:

1. Domestic success
   Mbappe at 23, has already won a lot domestically with PSG and his ability last season to standout in a team that includes Neymar and Lionel Messi is testament to his standing in the sport
2. International success
   Mbappe is a FIFA World Cup winner and odds on to become a future World Player of the Year winner. With his French team going to the Qatar World Cup as defending Champions, he is set to feature heavily at the 2022 tournament.
3. Building a global social media presence
   Mbappe has a youthful image with over 72.5 million followers on Instagram alone, providing him with a huge global audience of considerable value to brand sponsors.
4. Become one of their generations lead influencers
   Mbappe is the established face of soccer’s current generation of players and his position and influence inside and outside of the game arguably far exceeds any other young player in the world this year.
5. Be aware of their own brand image and value
   Mbappe is highly conscious of his own brand image and commercial appeal. Reports suggested that his stance over image rights contributed to his decision to turn down Real Madrid earlier this year, in favour of extending his contract with PSG.

Kemp adds: “Sponsorship deals from the big brands on the scale enjoyed by Mbappe are unique and hard won requiring elite levels of personal and professional success to achieve. As a result, elite athletes are becoming more aware about which brands their image should be identified with. This was most evident at the European Championships last year when Cristiano Ronaldo replaced a Coca-Cola bottle with his own water bottle.”