As reported in Crains Detroit, “Rochester Hills native Brad Keselowski captured the 2012 Sprint Cup Series championship on Sunday — and increased his own personal earning potential.
The NASCAR driver will cash in right away by charging more to appear at events.
“We’ll adjust his appearance fees accordingly,” said John Caponigro, president of Bloomfield Hills-based Sports Management Network Inc., which handles Keselowski’s personal sponsorships, endorsements and contracts as his agent. “We do it on a case-by-case basis.”
Caponigro, who declined to say what’s charged now for a Keselowski appearance, expects his client to be in demand.
“With the badge of a NASCAR cup champion coupled with his Nationwide Cup championship of 2010, he is a coveted athlete now, more than he had been in the past,” he said.
Current NASCAR drivers can charge from $10,000 to $25,000 for a personal appearance, but a reigning series cup champions such as Keselowski can earn $25,000 to $50,000 per event, said Mike Dietz, president and director of Farmington Hills-based sports marketing firm Dietz Trott Sports & Entertainment.
“Obviously, just winning, his popularity is soaring right now,” he said.
The fee depends on length of the appearance and factors such as autographs, photos, etc.
“Those are all the things that make the price range go from low to high,” Dietz said. Almost all of his sponsorship agreements most likely have appearance agreements attached to it, he said.
Keselowski can now charge his sponsors increased fees, and he cash in on his accomplishment for the rest of his life.
“He’ll always be a champion, so he’ll have a long lasting opportunity to make appearances,” Dietz said.
The site CelebrityNetWorth.comestimates Keselowski’s current worth at $15 million.
Keselowski, 28, finished 15th in Sunday’s 267-lap Ford EcoBoost 400 at theHomestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., which was good enough to take the Sprint Cup points title.
He finished the 36-race series with 2,400 points, besting by 39 points driver Clint Bowyer of Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC.
Keselowski, who drives the No. 1 Miller Lite Dodge Charger, finished with five victories, in the top five 13 times and 23 times in the top 10 this season.
He also won races earlier in his career in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series, which is stock car racing’s second-tier circuit, one step below the Sprint Cup.”
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