Why Naomi Osaka is the Most Marketable Female Athlete in the World

First came the news from forbes.com in May of 2022 that at the age of 22, a mere two years after defeating Serena Williams in the U.S. Open, Naomi Osaka was the highest-paid female athlete in the world. In the previous twelve months, she earned $37.4 million, from prize money and endorsements, topping Serena Williams’ haul by $1.4 million. The following year — even after withdrawing from the French Open due to mental health concerns, withdrawing from the Western & Southern Open in protest over the shooting of Jacob Blake, and wearing face masks with the names of black victims of police brutality — Osaka raked in $60 million. 

In previous years such political stances might have sent corporate sponsors running for the hills. However, with the pressure to show diversity and inclusion, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the BLM movement, that no longer appears to be the case. In keeping with the national zeitgeist, corporations want to show a more caring, progressive demeanor, and Naomi Osaka appears to be their poster child. 

A Global Brand

What makes her different? In terms of marketability, Osaka’s brand is greater than the sum of her tournament wins. Her biracial identity — her mother is Japanese and her father Haitian American — gives her global appeal. Stack social activism on top of youth and her brand is the winning formula that corporations, keen to be on the right side of social change, are falling over themselves to be a part of.

After her well-publicized mental struggles, Nike came running to her defense, issuing a statement: “Our thoughts are with Naomi. We support her and recognize her courage in sharing her own mental health experience." A deluge of other shows of support followed from GoDaddy, Hyperice, Levi’s, Nissan, Nissin Foods, and TAG Heuer Sweetgreen, Mastercard, and Beats Electronics.

“I don’t think there’s a downside for her—I don’t think there will be any kind of brand damage,” Joe Favorito, a vet marketing consultant and Columbia University lecturer told Forbes. “Where she comes out of this personally as opposed to professionally will hopefully be a good story that sponsors will want to be a part of.” 

Favorito has been proved right. According to Forbes, Osaka has been collecting endorsement partners like recyclers collect cans after a July 4th weekend. By the time she had withdrawn from the French open her list of endorsees had swelled from 15 to more than 20 and included heavyweights Google, Louis Vuitton, and Workday putting her alongside endorsement titans Roger Federer, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods. 

The Move Into Crypto

In recent months Osaka’s endorsements have continued to stack up. In March it was announced she'd become a brand ambassador for Crypto exchange company FTX. The four-time Grand Slam champ has joined the growing list of such exchanges with sports figures involved and NFTs. Other FTX-affiliated athletes include Tom Brady, Shohei Ohtani, and Stephen Curry. Osaka is the first female major female athlete to join FTX’s sports ambassador campaign. “In exchange for becoming an FTX global ambassador, Osaka will receive an equity stake in FTX and will be receiving her compensation in crypto,” a press release stated.

Osaka first ventured into crypto when she released an NFT (non-fungible token) in partnership with Draft Kings in August 2021.

EVOLVE-ing Her Brand

In May, Osaka announced the launch of her own sports agency, EVOLVE with her long-time agent, Stuart Duguid. In doing so, she sent shock waves through tennis as it meant she would be leaving her powerhouse management company, IMG. Her move follows in the footsteps of both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who also left IMG in 2011-12. Other sports starts outside of tennis — Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James — have also similarly gone solo. But once again Osaka is breaking the mold for female athletes. 

“I’ve spent my career doing things my way, even when people told me that it wasn’t what was expected or traditional,” Osaka said of the move. “EVOLVE is the natural next step in my journey as both an athlete and businesswoman, as well as a way to continue being myself and doing things my way.”

Duguid explained the financial ramifications: 

“The core of EVOLVE is building Naomi’s business from $50 million a year to $150 million a year,” he told Sportico. Without having to pay the fees of an outside management company, it’s clear that as endorsements continue to pour in, more money will go to Osaka. In conjunction, owning and operating a company is a good tax write-off as Osaka’s business continues to grow, which given her age of 24, it undoubtedly will. 

Hana Kuma - Naomi’s move into TV & Film

Alongside her longtime agent and business partner Stuart Duguid, Hana Kuma has launched in partnership with LeBron James (who we recently covered) and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Company. With the company’s name being tied to Osaka’s Japanese roots, it aims to “produce stories that are culturally specific but universal to all audiences; playful and bold in its approach to tackle important issues of society.”

As Osaka continuously champions those around her, she wants Hana Kuma to serve as yet another way to amplify voices and allow others to join her in enacting global change.

In the pipeline for Osaka’s new company is a documentary series with EPIX, as well as its first project “MINK!” about Patsy Mink, the first woman of color elected to Congress, per the release.

Joining Osaka for Hana Kuma is its Head of Development Chavonne LeNoir. At her new home, the creative executive and producer will continue her commitment to uplifting the stories of people of color by leading the company’s studio development across scripted and non-fiction content.

According to sportskeeda.com Osaka currently has a net worth of $45 million. Essentially sports put it at $60 million. Interestingly, just $5 million of her earnings comes from tennis. The vast majority is from her multiple endorsements which are spread across well-known US and Japanese brands and include: Yonex, Nike, Nissan, Citizen Watches, Nissin Foods, Shiseido cosmetics, broadcaster, Wowow, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Bare minerals, Body Armor, Melco Resorts, Morinaga, Tag Heuer, Luis Vuitton, Sweetgreen and Ariel Japan. She is also the brand ambassador for Mastercard and now FTX.

Barely a day goes by with more news of Osaka’s burgeoning business moves. Instagram is kept constantly busy — whether it’s news of the customized Naomi Osaka bowl from Sweetgreen, or tennis player Francis Tiafoe wearing her shoes at Wimbledon this year. However, if Osaka wants to continue the endorsement windfall long into the future, like other tennis greats, she needs to keep playing and winning. Her recent dip in form, if it lasts, will eventually have ramifications off the court. However, given her stance on the demands athletes face to stay at the top of their game, she might decide that being a champion in business by far outweighs the stress of doing likewise in sports.