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Gold in 2012 London Olympics for Gabby Douglas Could Mean Millions of Dollars in Endorsement Deals

Who better than the all-around women gymnastics champion, who lives and trains in West Des Moines, to endorse Kellogg's Cornflakes ?

 

The heavy gold medal from the London 2012 Olympics has hardly had time to give Gabby Douglas a sore neck, but that hasn't stopped speculation already about the millions she stands to make in endorsement deals.

The 16-year-old women's all-around gymnastics champion, who also took home a gold medal with Team USA, will appear on boxes of Cornflakes this fall, reports ABC News. She signed the deal just hours after her individual win.

Experts say the Olympic golden girl could bring in up to $10 million in endorsements over the next few years.

"Gabby Douglas is perfect for family oriented brands that are looking for someone that portrays all of those classic Middle America values," Robert Tuchman, a sports marketing analyst, told ABC.

Douglas's endorsement stock soared higher than one of her vaults on Thursday night, when she added an all-around gymnastic gold medal to the team gold she won earlier in the week, reported Ad Age. Procter & Gamble signed up the gymnast before the games, putting her in a "raising an Olympian" video that was produced immediately after the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic trials.

And Yahoo Sports points out that whereas even the most decorated Olympians typically fade from the national spotlight almost immediately after the Olympic flame is extinguished, past U.S. women's all-around gymnastics champions have enjoyed a longer shelf life.

Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson graced cereal boxes and magazine covers and appeared in TV shows and cosmetics commercials long after their gymnastics careers peaked.

Related Topics: Gabby Douglas, Shawn Johnson, U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team, and endorsements

Maria Houser Conzemius

4:04 pm on Saturday, August 4, 2012

I'm thrilled by Gabby Douglas' success at the Olympics at the tender age of 16. She has a lot of guts, character, talent, and courage. If she makes lots of money from endorsements, that's all gravy. Nobody is an Olympic athlete forever, and rewarding her values of persistence, character, and sacrifice will keep her in pocket change, I hope, for a long time.

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