Lammi helps Buccaneers QB capitalize on Super Bowl success
Sure, he’s a Green Bay Packers fan. But Brian Lammi wasn’t all too upset to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win Super Bowl XXXVII.
It was a win for him also.
Lammi, president of Lammi Sports Management in Milwaukee, represents Tampa Bay quarterback Brad Johnson for endorsements. And the two have been capitalizing on the Buccaneer’s Super Bowl win, with Johnson appearing with a milk moustache in the popular "got milk?" advertising campaign, and on the cover of the Wheaties cereal box celebrating the team’s victory.
Then there were the television appearances on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Good Morning America and a "what’s next" Disney commercial, and he appreared in Disneyland’s Main Street Parade.
Johnson’s performance and Tampa Bay’s domineering win made him a wanted persona in the endorsement world, Lammi noted. And that’s a real change of pace from the normal situation.
"In most cases, we’re going after the companies to seek endorsement deals," he says. "Now, with Brad, the companies are coming to us. Unless you have one of the top five athletes nationally, these companies aren’t beating down your doors."
For Johnson, who conveys a more family-oriented persona, the picking was more selective. "We will turn down a lot more deals than we will accept," Lammi says. "Especially with a guy like Brad Johnson with his family orientation."
Lammi, who talks with Johnson "a couple of times a week," says the quarterback is "one of the nicest human beings I’ve met. He is incredibly down to earth. He really is a great family guy."
That helps with the likes of Disney promotions.
And Johnson’s success should help promote Lammi’s business.
"Being able to say we represent a person as popular as Brad Johnson helps," Lammi says. "It really helps get the word out about our business."
Johnson isn’t the only well-known athlete that Lammi Sports Management represents for endorsements on an exclusive basis. Others include Ron Dayne, the former Wisconsin Badgers great who now plays for the New York Giants, former Packer and now Washington Redskin Santana Dotson, Green Bay Packers coach Edgar Bennett, Woody Dantzler of the Dallas Cowboys and George Foster, the Georgia tackle predicted to be a first-round draft pick in the National Football League.
Lammi also works on a non-exclusive basis with clients such as Barry Alvarez, Kabeer Gbaja Biamila, Ahman Green, Donald Driver and UW-Milwaukee Panthers coach Bruce Pearl.
Lammi is executive director of the Santana Dotson Celebrity 9 Ball Shootout. That charity pool tournament takes place March 15 at Romaine’s pool hall on South 27th Street in Milwaukee.
Among his corporate clients are Miller Brewing, WISN-TV, Roundy’s and Cobalt.
Feb. 21, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
