The July 1-2 poll, which has a 4-point margin of error for the “avid sports fans” demographic, sought to test the popularity of some of the top figures from who are regularly seen, read or heard in the national sports media landscape. The personalities were pulled from The Big Lead’s list of the 75 most powerful people in sports media.
While Manning -- whose “Peyton’s Places” series launches with four episodes on July 29 and one weekly through the end of the upcoming season -- narrowly led NBA Hall of Famer and current “NBA on TNT” star Charles Barkley (65 points) in net favorability, 51 percent of avid sports fans said they viewed the former signal-caller “very favorably,” compared with 41 percent who said the same of Barkley.
Manning’s appeal has not gone unnoticed among corporate executives, as marketers have integrated him into hit commercial ads, including his well-known jingle for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., a still-active partnership. During his final NFL season, when he won Super Bowl 50, Forbes ranked him as the 27th highest-paid athlete with $34.2 million between salary and endorsements, listing off-the-field partnerships that included Gatorade, Buick and Papa John’s International Inc.
Jimmy Sanderson, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management at Texas Tech University, said Manning’s image as a “good country boy, old-fashioned guy” who steers clear of controversy helps make him a relatable figure.
“He doesn’t talk about politics,” he said. “He doesn’t really do anything that would make him divisive.”
The NFL is America’s dominant sports league, home to 40 of the top 50 live sporting events in 2018, according to Nielsen, and Manning was joined at the top of the Morning Consult ranking by a number of media personalities with an ongoing connection to the league. That includes veteran play-by-play commentators Al Michaels of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” Mike Tirico of NBC and Jim Nantz of CBS. Avid sports fans also rated Michaels’ color co-pilot Cris Collinsworth and Nantz’s broadcast partner, Tony Romo, highly.
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