Despite Comparisons to Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, Giants Legend Barry Bonds Struggled to Find Endorsements

Barry Bonds is a big name in the MLB circle, with a playing career of close to two decades with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants. He was an aggressive player and had a powerful aura on the field. Given his skills and talent, he was always in demand in the market, which reflects in his contract with Giants to date. Even though he was a star on the field, leading to his comparisons with every other celebrity athlete, Bonds faced a few struggles off the field.

At the top lies his failure to get enough attraction from the brands for endorsements. Even though he did everything right on the field, the scene did not change. The MLB star reflected on the same in his book Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero. Within the book, the Giants announcer Ted Robinson addressed the Bonds’ greatest weakness on the field.

When a smile transformed into Bonds’ greatest vulnerability!

Considering that a smile plays a significant role in one’s personality, it becomes more crucial during public appearances. However, Bonds found himself in a unique situation where his smile became his greatest weakness. On page 205, Ted recalls Bonds’ weakness with a smile. He shares, “In private his smile lights up a room. But he doesn’t use it enough. I used to tell him, ‘Here’s Ken Griffey, hardly the warmest guy around. But Griffey will stroll onto the field and smile and laugh. That’s why he ends up on every magazine cover and SportsCenter highlight.” This problem affected Bonds not once, but many times. There was this one moment wherein his frustration reached the peak.

His frustration increased more after Nike’s nationwide advertising campaign for Ken Griffey Jr. Jeff Borris, one of the agents who worked with Bond during that period, reflected the same thought. He shared, “Barry is everything to baseball that Michael Jordan is to basketball and Tiger Woods is to golf. I feel sorry for him in that sense.” 

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Even after being compared to the legends of cross sports, the MLB star couldn’t attract some meaningful endorsements. Even after all the struggles, Bonds continued to work hard and has now worth over $100 million, which includes a share of his endorsements.

Barry Bonds’s some of the notable endorsement deals!

Even though Barry struggled to garner interest from the brands, but eventually found his way. A few include Fila, KFC, Mastercard, Franklin Sports, and many more. Even though a few deals broke because of some disagreements, his success after those struggles only proves that where there’s a will, there’s a way. 

We’d love to hear your thoughts on Barry’s remarkable success story. Please share your opinions in the comments section below.

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