At the end of the day, everything comes down to revenue. How much revenue you earn determines how successful your brand becomes. Ratings are important. Impact is also valuable. However, at the end of the day, for most sports radio brands, the revenue figure must remain in the green or the red pen is due.
A big piece of the sports radio revenue stream is tied to personal endorsements by the trusted talent on the radio station. For all the discussion about how to make commercial ad reads more presentable to a listening audience, the personal touch from a trusted voice matters most. We’re entering the season where endorsements matter most: the holiday shopping season.
Turn on your local sports radio station. You’ll hear talent sharing messages about their favorite jeweler, clothing brand, or car dealer—all with a gentle nod at the end to let listeners know who sent them. But with the demands of the daily grind, cracks have appeared in the endorsement model. Something all talent should keep in mind, most recently highlighted by Mina Kimes of ESPN.
The biggest money maker in sports media is, without question, Stephen A. Smith. He’s turned First Take into a signature sports talk television product. Using his platform as Executive Producer to showcase non-ESPN talent while helping them promote their own platforms. Shannon Sharpe, Gilbert Arenas, and Cam Newton are just a few examples.
Smith also turned a shocking viral moment at last year’s NBA Finals into a personal endorsement opportunity. While on-site for ESPN’s coverage, cameras caught Smith playing solitaire during the game. He spun the moment as multitasking while working for ESPN—and reveled in the backlash.
Less than six months later, Smith became the official ambassador for the “World Solitaire Championship,” endorsing the mobile game company Papaya. That’s turning an embarrassing negative into a money-making positive.
In the week since Smith’s announcement, several ESPN personalities, including Kimes, Dan Orlovsky, Ros Gold-Onwude, Laura Rutledge, and Kendrick Perkins, have attached their names to the Papaya endorsement. They promoted the #BeatStephen challenge on their social media accounts using the company Smith signed with.
This is where the lesson lies.
When talent are asked to endorse a company or product, some legwork is essential—whether by the talent or the sales representative. Is the company reputable? Does it align with the talent’s values? Is it legitimate? In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, these are fair questions.
In the race to secure advertising dollars and revenue, we’ve seen the rush to get revenue on the books without taking the proper precautions every talent and sales representative should. We’ve seen this from massive companies, including the now-infamous crypto exchange FTX and the Fyre Festival. The most recent example is Smith’s endorsement of Papaya, and the tentacles it touched with several other ESPN talents.
To her credit, Kimes apologized for endorsing Papaya Gaming. The company is currently involved in a federal lawsuit accusing it of falsely marketing games of skill and having used “tailored bots to control the outcomes of tournaments.”
Sounds like sports and sports media are having some trouble avoiding fixed games of skill lately.
Kimes admitted she did not properly vet the business and called it simple “marketing work.” She felt embarrassed and acknowledged it was a “colossal f**k up.” Her response is an honest reflection of a process too many talents follow: trust the people pitching the product instead of the product itself.
Since the revelation of the ongoing lawsuit, Kimes, Rutledge, and Orlovsky have all removed their promotional posts on social media involving Smith’s endorsement of Papaya. Only Kimes was the one to apologize for the endorsement and serve up an explanation as to why.
Her example is a clear reminder: legwork prevents make-up work. The brand you represent is more valuable than any client partnership. Bad deals hurt brands, but only when speed is prioritized over execution. It’s a disservice to your audience to endorse companies that don’t meet your standards.
At the end of the day, the lesson is clear: revenue is important, but reputation is priceless. A hasty endorsement may fill the ledger today, but it can erode trust tomorrow.
In sports media, as in sports itself, the wins that matter most aren’t just measured in numbers—they’re measured in credibility, consistency, and respect. The challenge for every talent and every brand is simple: move fast, but think twice; chase dollars, but never at the cost of your integrity.
Because no bonus, no sponsorship, no viral moment is worth more than the audience that believes in you.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
