There’s not a whole lot that Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo can do wrong as of late. They are fresh off helping the Chicago Cubs break the longest drought in professional sports history which has resulted in the pair firmly cementing their place in the franchise’s history.
The pair, better known as Bryzzo, have begun to find success off the baseball diamond as well. They’re both young, good-looking, level headed guys that have won the hearts of an entire city and now they’ve begun to win the hearts of marketing executives across the nation.
Sports Business Daily recently released their results of the 2017 Most Marketable Major League Baseball players and as a surprise to no one, the Chicago Cubs landed two players in the top five spots — Bryant and Rizzo.
The methodology of the survey was relatively simple.
“It was distributed to corporate brand managers, marketing and branding executives, agencies, sports business professors and baseball media. The 42 respondents listed, in order, the top five most marketable players in MLB. Points were awarded on a five-point scale, with a player awarded five points for a first-place vote, four points for second place, etc.”
In a different survey last year based off what is known as a ‘Q’ score, Bryant graded out as being the most marketable MLB player in 2016 so it’s very clear that he is an athlete that companies are trying to get their hands on. What separates him from Rizzo however, is the fact that Bryant is highly marketable both in AND out of his uniform.
Sportswriter Tom Verducci explains,
“Bryant is the rare baseball player who has appeared in an ad campaign out of uniform (Express Men). This is what the Brady’s and Rodgers of the world do — when your face, not just your skill at the job, are part of your brand.”
Bryant currently holds deals with Adidas, Express, Fanatics, Glu Mobile, Lyft, Nestle, Rawlings Sporting Goods, Red Bull, Topps.
Rizzo ranks number five on the list and is slightly different in terms of his marketability than Bryant. The value of marketing a guy like Rizzo lies in his character and personal story. He is a cancer survivor with a personality almost as big as his 6’4″ frame which was best exemplified during his appearance in SNL immediately following the World Series victory. In the episode, Rizzo was on camera dancing and twerking in a hilarious skit which was something that the more soft-spoken Bryant would never do.
Obviously, both guys are benefiting from the success of the Chicago Cubs and with the team possibly turning into the next baseball dynasty, there should be plenty of more opportunities for Bryzzo to work their magic.
To see the full list of most marketable players, click here.
