Chapter 983: Car Commercial

First a sponsorship, then a Super Bowl commercial.

The bombshells kept dropping. A Super Bowl commercial slot was already incredibly expensive, and major advertisers had to fight tooth and nail to get a spot. If they were able to get one, the company would definitely give it the highest priority. Every commercial would be meticulously shot, aiming to shine on the stage of the Super Bowl halftime show.

Otherwise, when compared to other competitors, if it failed to attract enough attention or was even overshadowed, wouldn’t that be a huge loss?

Now, Leigh said that this new sponsor wanted Lu Ke to film a commercial and put it on the Super Bowl stage. The level of importance and treatment was top-tier.

Was this really okay for Lu Ke, a second-year player?

Even Lu Ke, an outsider who knew nothing about this, could feel a faint sense of anticipation bubbling up. But the problem was that Leigh remained so calm and composed, which made Lu Ke’s mood a little strange. Was there no need to make a big deal out of this? Were there more things that he hadn’t revealed yet? Or was it a case of no free lunch, and he shouldn’t be happy too soon?

The reporter’s mind started to work, and Lu Ke’s attention shifted. He nodded slightly and fell into his own thoughts, completely missing the point. "But, don’t TV commercials usually take three to five days to film? And sometimes they even have to go out on location, which might take longer?"

This wasn’t Lu Ke’s area of expertise. He had only heard some rumors, and he wasn’t very sure.

Leigh was already used to Lu Ke’s jumping thoughts. "Tomorrow, we’ll go into the studio first and shoot some simple shots. After the regular season ends, we might have a first-round bye. We can then spend two days shooting on location. This was one of our negotiation conditions: it cannot affect your game schedule and daily practice, otherwise, it would have to be postponed to the offseason. They agreed."

It was clear that Leigh had considered everything.

After all the Week 15 regular season games ended, the overall NFC landscape was mostly set.

Currently, the San Francisco 49ers were far ahead with a 14-0 record. The Atlanta Falcons, who were temporarily ranked second, had already lost two games, one to the New Orleans Saints in Week 10 and one to the Carolina Panthers in Week 14. Both losses were within their division.

Based on wins and losses, the San Francisco 49ers had already secured the number one seed in the NFC playoffs two weeks in advance. It was because of this that the outcome of the game against the New England Patriots was not as serious as imagined. No matter what, the 49ers would have the upper hand. Naturally, the system’s special mission had no failure penalty.

Similarly, the Atlanta Falcons had also secured the number two seed in the NFC in advance.

Now, the biggest suspense was the remaining playoff spots and whether the San Francisco 49ers could complete a perfect season.

Leigh had already calculated all these wins and losses and the playoff schedule.

Lu Ke nodded in understanding, and then he couldn’t help but show a look of worry. He said nervously, "Filming a commercial must be more difficult than a magazine shoot or a modeling gig, right?"

Seeing Lu Ke’s genuine concern, Leigh couldn’t help but laugh softly. He proactively reminded him, "Shouldn’t you be asking what the sponsor is?"

"...Oh, right!" Lu Ke only remembered this now. He quickly asked out of curiosity, "So, what brand is it?"

Seeing Lu Ke’s calm and indifferent state, Leigh shook his head helplessly. "You’re making me feel like I haven’t accomplished anything."

Lu Ke couldn’t help but complain to himself: Wasn’t the person who was calm and composed the whole time the old man sitting here enjoying afternoon tea? It had caused his own sense of anticipation to keep dropping.

But on the surface, Lu Ke was very cooperative. He cheered in an exaggerated and fake manner. "Wow! Wow! I’m so excited! So, what company is it? I can’t wait!" At the same time, he also started clapping like a seal.

It was... so fake, the kind that was hard to watch.

Leigh said seriously, "Luckily, you’re a football player, not an actor." Was he mocking Lu Ke’s terrible acting skills?

Lu Ke shrugged innocently and mumbled things like "Old people are so hard to please."

Leigh couldn’t help but laugh. In the end, he didn’t continue to tease him and revealed the answer. "Mercedes-Benz, five million dollars a year. We signed for three years."

Mercedes-Benz?

Five million dollars a year?

It was indeed a bombshell! First it was Rolex, and now it was Mercedes-Benz. But everything was so good and so amazing that Lu Ke still felt a little unaccustomed to it. The first question that came to his mind was the same:

Had he already reached such a level? He hadn’t even been to the Super Bowl yet, and this was only his second season?

It wasn’t that Lu Ke wasn’t confident enough. It was just that everything was coming too fast and too strong. The Rolex endorsement deal was for six million dollars over four years, but now it had directly risen to fifteen million dollars over three years? In just two months, wasn’t the increase too fast?

Leigh seemed to be able to read Lu Ke’s expression. He immediately explained, putting Lu Ke’s Chinese heritage aside. "Your public media image has helped a lot."

Lu Ke was confused.

Leigh continued, "Just like David Beckham. Every time he appears, from his hairstyle to his clothes, and even the small details like his tie knot, belt, and watch, are all part of his image. Every time you have a press conference, your clothes, your words, and your off-field performance are the same."

"Now, your persistence and hard work have paid off and have added a lot of points for you." After saying that, Leigh’s face showed a look of interest. "Did you know? Not long ago, ’Entertainment Weekly’ held an online poll on social media to vote for the sexiest and most handsome professional athlete."

Lu Ke was full of question marks: What did this have to do with him?

Lu Ke’s expression made Leigh even happier. "In the football category, you surpassed Brady and Rodgers and won first place. You are now the most handsome guy in the entire league. And in the overall athlete category, you also made it into the top ten. In the eyes of the American people, you are now on the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, and Kaká."

"What?" Lu Ke exclaimed in disbelief. "This must be some kind of unreliable list, right?"

Leigh laughed happily. This small detail showed the difference between Lu Ke and the average American young person. If it were a player like Logan or Aldon Smith, they would have already started to proudly enjoy the praise. But Lu Ke’s first reaction was disbelief, because he had never put himself in that position.

"It’s not a small list. I heard that the number of votes exceeded 100,000," Leigh was still teasing Lu Ke. It was not easy to see such a stunned expression from him.

The jokes were jokes, but the content was real.

During the bye week, Leigh had noticed that Lu Ke had potential, so he reminded him that it was best to pay attention to his attire at every press conference.

At the time, Lu Ke thought it was ridiculous and funny, but in just two months, the returns had already come. Now, Lu Ke’s public image had gradually moved away from the football field and had won more and more praise. Even viewers who had never watched football—especially female viewers—now knew who Lu Ke was.

This was a good start.

Mercedes-Benz had done a market survey before signing the spokesperson, and the results were very pleasing.

Lu Ke still felt a little absurd. Before, Leigh had said that he would use Beckham as a template to build Lu Ke’s brand. Now, thinking about it, it still felt funny, but the facts in front of him had already yielded a rich return. Now, Lu Ke finally vaguely understood why every top superstar had a complete team behind them, because every detail was part of their image.

However, he only had one agent, Leigh, and it seemed that he still had a long way to go.

Lu Ke couldn’t help but sigh, "Why do I feel like everything came too easily? It doesn’t feel real."

"Of course not." Leigh shook his head and proactively reminded him, "Everything is based on your performance on the field. The sweat you shed on the training field cannot be ignored. And games like today’s. Everything you have is what you fought for with all your might. It’s not as simple as you think."

"More importantly, the extensions outside of the field are definitely not that simple. You need long-term, day-to-day accumulation," Leigh added.

Lu Ke nodded in understanding. "Just like training?"

Leigh couldn’t help but laugh softly. "Just like training."

After a pause, Leigh immediately brought up another matter. "As for the contract amount, unfortunately, it didn’t reach the level I had hoped for. Mercedes-Benz has just entered the NFL market, and they are still a bit cautious. In fact, I once considered signing with Chevrolet. Their numbers were obviously much bolder and prettier, but..."

Leigh shrugged. "Benz is Benz. They don’t have as high a market share as Chevrolet in the US, so their demand for you is higher. What’s more, this can expand your global popularity. I think there is more potential for future cooperation, so in the end, I still chose Mercedes-Benz. In any case, there’s a long way to go, and we can work on it slowly."

Leigh was serious. Based on Lu Ke’s observation, he knew that what Leigh had just said was sincere.

Fifteen million dollars over three years.

This was the number that Leigh was not satisfied with?

Not to mention that the previous Rolex deal was for six million dollars over four years. Even if he only looked at the horizontal comparison in the field of car endorsements, this was a cooperation worth cheering for!

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