James Rodríguez is a topic of conversation when he plays and when he doesn’t, when he shines and when he doesn’t, why and why not. Now that he has overcome his physical problems, it is because of the return and for what he represents even when he is not on the court.
James was instrumental in Everton’s recent FA Cup qualification, in a very close match against modest Rotherham United, and his match was scored with 6 points. He was within the average, but the specialized press appreciated that he seems, finally, recovered from his injuries and ready to shine again, as he did in his first games in the Premier League.
That is key for Carlo Ancelotti because that interview that the Colombian gave, anticipating that it will be to qualify for the Champions League, is, more than a wish, a round business: just reaching the group stage represents 15 million euros, each victory adds another 3.5 million and so far the most realistic calculations. From the second round on, all that comes is additional profit.
But the minimum is that the left-hander promotes the arrival even to the Europa League, which gave, in 2019, 8 million euros to the champion and 5 to the runner-up and that pays 3.5 million and almost a million for each in the group stage victory.
Not to mention TV broadcasting rights, which in Europe and the Premier League represent a generous part of the club’s budget: in the latter scenario it would be around 4 million euros this season.
However, when James was not available, the concerns at Everton were not so great, as he is a very different player from his colleagues, who bills on the court and off it.
What does it mean? The details must be found in the fine print of your contract. As revealed by the Liverpool Echo, the Colombian signed for two years, with the option of one more year, tied to a certain number of appearances in the season. But even if he did not reach the threshold, it would be the English club that would be the first option to tie him up longer.
“Rodriguez’s wages have been the subject of much speculation. ECHO understands that he accepted a pay cut to join Everton, but his salary remains unconfirmed.”
Where do you pay from? From marketing. Only the kit agreement with Hummel (owner of Fantatics) represents about 10 million euros per year, which the manufacturer hopes to recover in the United Kingdom but especially in South America and Colombia.
Already the image of the Colombian secured a sponsorship agreement with the Rushbet betting company in Colombia and is close to signing with Parimatch for Europe, Russia and other independent states. Rovio (Angry Birds) is also in negotiations to be a new sponsor for the shirt sleeve. Is it due so much to the image of the Colombian? “The arrival of Rodriguez, and his global appeal to sponsors, may have helped Everton in this quest and explained, in part, why they were willing to wait,” responds the Echo.
According to the source, Everton has made it clear that the signing of James has accelerated plans to grow the club’s profile in the United States and South America. “The arrival of the Colombian in September led the club to create a Twitter account in Spanish, which now has more than 60,000 followers, and a review showed that it has some of the highest participation rates compared to similar accounts created by the Premier League “.
According to official data, the Everton website had a 433% increase in traffic after the signing of number 19, and the Tik Tok account has grown 45%.
The data adds to the intention to open an office in the United States, to tour in that country and in South America once the restrictions due to the pandemic end, and even to the intention to allow a documentary like Amazon’s in Tottenham, which Ancelotti thought it was great: “The documentary shows very well what happens in each club and how difficult the coach’s job is. I saw José in some situations, in my personal opinion, he was really good,” he said.
In image rights, it is assured that the Colombian kept some of his contracts on the sidelines but marked the image of the team with his amazing numbers in networks: 46.6 million followers on Instagram, 19 million on Twitter, more than 36 million on Facebook and 2.2 million on TikTok. He is by far the most impactful player Everton has ever signed.
Business comes and goes and a lot has to do with the permanence of men with star labels, as is the case with James. That is why in Everton you do not suffer in the same way as in Colombia if you have poor performance or suffer injuries, because your influence is sporting but also economic.
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