There was a time not too long ago when an “invasion” of non-American talent, especially young talent, meant a cause of great concern for sports which sought relevant in North America. Tennis and women’s gold were two that were always worried that stars with accents would not appeal to mainstream eyeballs and brands, and even the NHL had a bit of an identity crisis when the league had a death of Americans as Canadians and even Russians were filling rosters in places like San Jose and New Jersey. What will we do with great athlete from Switzerland and Spain and how can our fans relate to these accents’ vs Apple pie and ice cream?
That world has changed since that time not too long ago, and although it helps to have Nelly Korda (she of a lineage that came from those non-American athlete parents by the way) atop the LPGA and Coco Gauff leading a group of young American women atop the WTA, the advancement of mobile devices, social media and streaming have made the American market much more attune to marketing stars today who may not be home grown than ever before.
Case in point was last week’s NBA Draft, where not only was it the first time that two non-North Americans took the top two spots in the draft, in 2013 & 14 Canadians went first (Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins both to the Cavaliers), 17 young prospects from 10 countries outside North America were selected in the two rounds. There were many cases made the last few days that the WNBA Draft, with its drama and big names, was actually the spring must watch event, not the NBA Draft, whose biggest American buzzworthy name didn’t go until the middle of the second round and played before an average of 2,500 fans at USC last year, Bronny James. That is a far cry from young American talent dominating the draft board and the headlines just a few years ago.
Is it a cause for concern not just for the NBA and for other US leagues, as talent from “over there” gets deeper “over here.’ Well, if you are on the talent development or the NCAA side, there is probably some worry about how elite prospects are…or are not…coming along at the grassroots level, but if you are the NBA, it’s a trove of development for a global business getting bigger at the right time.
The leagues allowing teams to expand into developing brand partnerships outside their geographic footprint leans into global talent…see the dollars the Dodgers have brought in with Shohei Ohtani or what Monumental Sports has done in cultivating a host of brands from around the world looking to engage with an American audience or the partnerships the Kansas City Chiefs are forging in Germany… and creates new revenue streams, fan development opportunities and content plays way beyond what was possible before. In the case of the NBA, the seeds sown long ago by David Stern and his leadership to export the best possible product to places like France and Japan, along with a very positive working relationship with FIBA, started a pipeline of youth development that, combined, with the club system in Europe, is now really taking hold and will continue to grow not just on the Continent, but in Africa, Australia and elsewhere. American fans…see the growth of star power in soccer as well…understand and appreciate the best and can follow those best athletes in whatever device they want today…so affinity is much more accepted and natural as players emerge here than ever before. There is no more stigma in developing foreign athletes as stars when they are commonplace, and there is more opportunity to export content and engage with brands globally, with the way business is structured now. AI will only help move that along, as multilingual broadcast tools will give rights holders the ability be more effective and cost efficient in reaching audiences in a native tongue of an athlete both in North America and wherever they hail from. In short, what’s good “over there is also good here.’
Now is there a worry of talent erosion in a sport like basketball in North America? There should be, as the men’s college game has less “name stars” who happen to be American than ever before, and the transfer portal does not help in that college level development. But from a brand perspective, North American sports teams…men and women…are more globally marketable than ever before, and the talent pool reflected in last week’s draft highlights that. You did not see teams questioning how we market this kid from France, as would have happened maybe a few years ago. Now we look at it and say, there’s a new market to tap into…both with fans in the area who can relate to this man or women, and in the outreach that can be done from whence they came.
The sports world is smaller, and the market is maturing, and that’s a good thing for most.
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