"Nike is perhaps the most ubiquitous and sophisticated marketer in the sports world today," says Dean Bonham, chief executive of the Bonham Group, a Greenwood Village, Colo.-based sports marketing consulting firm. "[The company has] not only been able to attach themselves with athletes who have become celebrities, they've actually been able to create celebrities."
The Nike roster is the envy of all other sports brands. Who's on it? Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova, LeBron James, Derek Jeter and Ronaldo, among others. The company won't say exactly what it pays for names like these, but obviously it isn't cheap.



. "The world's best-paid athletes." FORBES. N.p., 22 2006. Web. 23 Nov 2012. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11961246/ns/business-forbes_com/t/worlds-best-paid-athletes/