Naomi Osaka is best known to the world as a four-time Grand Slam champion and one of the most formidable players on the WTA Tour, with seven career singles titles to her name. But away from the court, Osaka has built a reputation as one of the most financially savvy athletes of her generation, with Forbes estimating her net worth at over $60 million.
Her success is not just a result of prize money and traditional endorsements, but also from a series of bold business decisions that have set her apart. In a recent interview with First&red, her longtime agent Stuart Duguid shed light on one such pivotal choice that proved to be career-defining: Osaka’s decision to turn down a lucrative deal with Coca-Cola and instead partner with BodyArmor, a then-rising sports drink brand.
“You know, we, for example, we had a deal with a company called BodyArmor, which was a sports drink that Naomi did,” Duguid explained. “Kobe Bryant was the first athlete with BodyArmor, and then we was close after that. And at the time, she could have signed with Coca-Cola, or she could have signed with BodyArmor before the Tokyo Olympics.”
AloJapan.com