What's the attendance levels for Rockets road games? The road team gets a percentage of those sales, don't they? I often hear about all the Asian fans that come out to watch the Rockets on the road in certain cities. Perhaps Yao has some impact there.
Click next in that Forbes link. The Mavericks are worth almost the same amount and they don't have Yao. I don't think Yao being Chinese has much to do with Les' profits. Yao being a good basketball player probably has more to do with it since he helps us win which in turn results in more fans and corporations buying seats/tickets.
Les has significant ventures in China. Mainly real estate investment. He's got red carpet from China and he would be delusional if he thinks this all happened not because of Yao. He said Yao would be a Rocket for life back in March w/o any conditions. /Thread
If that is true, then Les is certainly benefiting greatly from Yao in a way that no other player could likely offer. Strictly talking about the business of basketball though, I don't think the fact that Yao is Chinese has much to do with making Les money. It likely has more to do with Yao and McGrady being very good players that attract fans to go to games and watch on TV. Here is an excerpt from the Cavs' Forbes page: Attendance, TV ratings and sponsor deals have soared, helping owner Dan Gilbert almost double revenues on the back of James. Great basketball players contribute to making franchises successful by boosting attendance, TV ratings and sponsor deals. I suppose the latter could actually be related to Yao being Chinese but the other two areas have more to do with Yao and McGrady being good players, the Rockets being a good basketball team and Toyota Center being an attractive venue.
NBA team revenues come from several sources, so let's examine them: 1. TV Contracts - shared among the teams, Yao has no impact specific to Rockets 2. Jersey Sales/Merchandising - shared among teams, Yao has no impact specific to Rockets 3. National sponsorships - shared among teams, again Yao no impact. 4. Home ticket sales - Yao probably has some impact here, though if the Rockets are winning lots of games and selling out the building it's replaced. 5. Local TV deals - Same as above, some impact from Yao, but not as much as a winning team would have. 6. Home Arena merchandise/food sales - again, more people in T-Center means more concession sales, and more sales in the Rockets Shop (the Rockets kick back to the league for Jersey & merchandise but I assume keep the mark-up when they sell out of the Rockets Shop) 7. Local sponsorships & Advertising - Yao has the MOST impact here, if not for Yao, the Rockets don't sell advertisements to Tsingtao on the sideboards beneath the scorers table and along the baseline, etc. Also significant national TV exposure due to Yao allows them to charge higher rates. I read that Oklahoma City sells about $10 mm in local sponsorships per year, so I'd guess that the Rockets probably collect a lot more, My guess is it's around the $20-25 million range annually. Total speculation, but I wouldn't be surprised if Yao allows the Rockets to reap an extra $5-10 mm in sponsorships & ad sales. They were, until his billion dollar stake in first marblehead became a $15 million stake last year.
From what I heard Les is a wall street broker more than a NBA owner. Between $$$ and winning, his preference is clear.
Sam, yeah, this is all true. But if we only focus on extra revenue Yao brings to the team, we are looking at the wrong tree. Les has plans in China and Yao is his biggest credit and marketing tools over there.
What are they exactly? If they are marketing the NBA internationally for the benefit of the Rockets, then most likely they are going to have to share that revenue with the league. Other than sellling local advertising to Chinese companies, which they already do, what exactly do you have in mind?
Les has invested in Peak, has invested in Beijing real estate development (one of several major investors in a shopping center downtown Beijing so I heard) and numerous other ventures in China. It's not just the revenue due to the China factor. That has proved to be of little impact, i.e. the Yi trade.
Thanks for this post. I learned something. From a basketball standpoint, Yao probably draws some extra revenue for the franchise through sponsor deals. Any business ventures Les takes part in beyond the world of basketball, I know nothing about but I could certainly fathom that Yao has opened some doors for him.
Then Yao is not generating any revenue for the Rockets in this way and none of this is contingent on him remaining with the team.
Dont know about your guys, but I spend about $180 each season on the LP, and Yao can take all the credit for it.
But he is for Les. Les would be from "owner of Houston Rockets" to "owner of NBA franchise who traded Yao" from a Chinese perspective.
That's why I said Yao is Les's credit in China. Why else would people in China let Les in on profitable real estate development if not because Yao plays for him. If Yao leaves, he is just another non-essential player in the Chinese market like many others, as someone already pointed in the thread.
Do you not realize how many non basketball fans Yao has brought out to the Toyota center??? I personally know a handfull of asians who never went to an NBA game before nor never cared to go. But when the Rockets got Yao, they bought season tickets. How can you say Yao Ming is not a cash cow for the rockets, just looking at ticket sales alone.
