Selena Gomez announced her official partnership with Puma in 2017. The brand endorsement added a $30 million value to her net worth. Gomez appeared in several commercials for the brand and received the said paycheck for a two-year term. However, Gomez’s Puma deal is nothing compared to some of the other major celebrity sports brand endorsements out there.
Luxury sports brands like Nike and Adidas have brought in several celebrities as their brand ambassadors and provided them with millions in paychecks. These celebrities include Lionel Messi, Tiger Woods, David Beckham, and Serena Williams.
Lionel Messi and Tiger Woods’ Brand Deals Tower Over Selena Gomez’s Puma Deal
When Selena Gomez announced herself as a Puma partner on Instagram, fans were not surprised at her huge $30 million deal with the sports brand (via E! News). It was one of the less expensive sports brand endorsement deals by a celebrity. When these celebrities sign up for a brand collaboration, it brings them truckloads of money which boosts their net worth.
If you think $30 million is handsome money for a few social media posts and a couple of commercials for Gomez, you are in for a shock. Argentinian legend Lionel Messi has a lifetime deal with Adidas which brings him not millions but a billion dollars in value. He signed this deal in 2017 after serving as a spokesperson for the brand for a long time.
The deal requires him to wear the brand’s shoes and jersey and appear in their commercials and campaigns. Interestingly, Messi makes more than $1 billion from this partnership. He gets a certain percentage of income when the brand sells its Messi-branded merch. Sports Brief estimates this amount to be in the range of $19.2 million per annum.
Tiger Woods‘ $200 million deal with Nike is not nearly as close as Messi’s but it’s still on the higher side compared to Gomez’s deal. However, it should be noted that this deal happened in the early 2000s making it a big deal at the time. His first multi-year contract with the luxury sports brand came in 1996 and was worth $40 million.
The next deal was inked for $100 million in 2001 and later in 2006. His most recent contract with the brand was for a reported $200 million in 2013. According to Fortune, Woods and Nike parted ways in 2024 after 27 years and $660 million worth of contracts.
David Beckham and Serena Williams Also Have More Expensive Sports Brand Deals Than Selena Gomez
David Beckham signed a contract with Adidas in 2003 for a huge upfront pay of $80 million. The endorsement deal had a reported value of $160 million (via ESPN). It surpassed Tiger Woods’ deal with Nike at the time and LeBron James’ $90 million contract with Nike. Beckham also earned percentages from the profits of the campaigns he was part of.
Serena Williams sealed the Nike deal at just 21 in 2003. She was the only female athlete with a sports brand deal for such a hefty amount. The initial contract was signed for $40 million for five years. However, an extension clause of three years was added which could pay her $55 million if she meets certain career achievements (via ESPN).
It should also be noted that despite her less expensive brand deal, Selena Gomez was one of the non-athletic celebrities to land such a huge deal with a sports brand.
