 |
Olympic speed skating champion Lee Sang-hwa models for Kia Motors in a deal that is reportedly worth hundreds of millions of won. (Kia Motors) |
Global sports stars are becoming another breed of superrich.
From jaw-dropping paychecks to endorsements and investment returns, the young, athletic and beautiful are raking in money with their talent and brand image. They are also clever enough to hold onto their assets.
The primary source of their income is payroll.
Major Leaguer Choo Shin-soo signed with the Texas Rangers for $130 million over seven years, while Ryu Hyun-jin signed a $4.3 million contract this year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Former Premier League footballer Park Ji-sung is thought to have bagged 4 million pounds ($7 million) a year from Queens Park Rangers while LPGA champion Park In-bee in 2013 revealed that she raked in 10 billion won ($9 million) in prize money.
“More athletes are going global, working for international fields, and their paychecks are growing,” said Kim Yang-hee, a sports agent, in an interview.
Endorsements are becoming major income sources, too.
Kim Yu-na was named the world’s sixth-highest-paid female sports star by Forbes Magazine with an estimated income of $14 million between June 2012 and June 2013, a majority of that from her endorsements with Samsung, Korean Air, KB Financial and others.
Olympic speed skating champion Lee Sang-hwa has also reportedly bagged a handful of deals that amount up to billions of won.
“We called it a success,” said Baek Byung-wook, a spokesman for Kia Motors, which hired Lee as an advertisement model.
The sports celebrities are also getting financially smarter, dabbling in real estate and other investments likely to bring in long-term profit.
According to reports, football legend Cha Bum-kun and his son Doo-ri made 4.2 billion won in 2012 after selling a four-story building in the fashionable district of Hannam-dong, which they bought for 1.9 billion won in 2006. The Cha clan is known to own another building nearby, whose value is expected to soar now that heavyweight fashion retailers are clustering in the area.
“These days, sports stars are very much interested in how to manage their assets. We have held seminars to suggest investment techniques to Korea Golf Association members,” said a spokesman at the Industrial Bank of Korea.
By Bae Ji-sook (
baejisook@heraldcorp.com)
