Harry Kane could net £100m if England win the World Cup but he'll never eclipse David Beckham, insists top PR expert
Harry Kane could expect to make £100m if he captains England to World Cup glory – but he will never be as big as David Beckham according a top PR guru.
Kane already has sponsorship deals with Nike, Beats By Dre, Lucozade Sport, EA Sports, Hugo Boss and BT Sport.
But PR specialist Mark Borkowski has told The Sun that even though Kane has a clean-cut, boy-next-door image, he can never match Beckham no matter how hard he is marketed.
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Borkowski said: “It’s not just his (value), but everyone else’s in that team. If you look at Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore, Nobby Stiles, Gordon Banks, Martin Peters and all those guys. They never made anything like what a Championship player makes.
“But history does tell us one thing. If England do win the World Cup the epic hype and value of every one of those players triples and quadruples because it sustains over a period of time.
“It’s not what Kane does in a year, but what is likely to benefit him over the next 50 years or when England win another World Cup!”
Borkowski added: “The value is going to be pretty momentous. It’s hype we’ve never seen, we saw Andy Murray win Wimbledon and the buzz of London Olympics 2012 but this would be beyond that.
“For Harry, it could be worth multiple millions. I would say he could make £100m and if he’s got clever people around him he could be harvesting money for 50 years.
“But the problem Kane may have is the real money will be made through foreign sponsorship, so if he goes to Real Madrid he could quadruple his earnings.
“Should he win the World Cup though, he’d have a career that would sustain things certainly in China and America, so it would be beyond a pension scheme.”
Tottenham striker Kane has dated his childhood sweetheart Katie Goodland for five years. They have a daughter called Ivy and another baby on the way – and got engaged last year.
Borkowski said: “David Beckham aside there’s very few footballers who brands have trusted, because they’re not the greatest role models. Kane transcends that, I don’t even think he has a tattoo! It’s his behaviour that sponsors respond well to.
“David Beckham transcended sport and also married a Spice Girl. He created a dynasty. Beckham did well because he became an ambassador. He blotted his copybook over the knighthood, and Harry is more clean-cut, but I don’t think Harry has the same personality.
“He hasn’t got that same kind of glitzy image, in the sense that Beckham is global – Harry would have to find himself at Real Madrid or make it big in America to be bigger than Beckham.
“I also think he’s a bit too homily, he’s the boy next door. Beckham was the boy next door, but he went rock and roll. I don’t think Harry has that in him..
“He could be someone who could be a statesman for football, definitely though.
“Kane could do whatever he wants, but the price of fame that’s hung heavily on Beckham’s shoulders – I’m not sure Harry would want that and I don’t think he’ll need that.”
Kane recently signed a new six-year contract with Spurs worth £5m-a-year and has also registered the ‘HK Harry Kane’ logo with the Government in its “clothing, footwear and headgear” category, as well as five other categories.
By trademarking his name, he joined sports legends like Beckham, Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer and Tiger Woods who have all done likewise.
This brand could net him more than £10m a year in marketing deals over the next five seasons. And it was estimated that he could earn £75m before the 2022 World Cup.
Beckham captained England in the 2006 World Cup and made 115 appearances for the Three Lions but ever got beyond the quarter-finals. He was sent off in 1998 against Argentina, lost 2-1 to Brazil in 2002 and went out on penalties in 2006 and injury prevented him playing in 2010.
