• NY Sports Journalism, Friday, July 9, 2010 10:42 AM

U.S. soccer star Landon Donovan is doing okay, as far as endorsements go -- $3 to $4 million a year from the collective likes of PepsiCo's Gatorade, Nike and Flo TV. But if he wants to be anywhere near the stratosphere occupied by Lance Armstrong or Michael Phelps, Barry Janoff writes, he'll have to first become the next Mia Hamm, the most highly decorated and marketable American-born soccer player ever.

Could Donovan surpass the estimated $7-8 million or so a year that Hamm earned at the height of her popularity? "Definitely," says Howard Brodwin, managing director for Team Marketing Systems. "He's got the talent, the presence, the visibility and he will most likely be the face of U.S. soccer going into the 2014 World Cup."

But the 28-year-old homegrown athlete, who scored three goals in the World Cup and plays professionally for the Los Angeles Galaxy, may best serve his commercial cause by scoring on an international, rather than domestic, platform, Janoff writes. He's already been in spots for the Mexican "Ganna Gol" National Lottery.

"As contradictory as it may sound, I think he'd actually do more for his marketability in the States by playing overseas rather than in the MLS," says Brodwin. Thanks to the Internet, many international stars have a large following in the U.S., which could affect his standing among ethnic consumers.

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