According to an MSNBC report by David Sweet, the left side of the Yankees infield contains the games “most marketable” players -

1. Derek Jeter: The gold standard in the endorsement game today, Jeter benefits from a clean image and his loyalty to one team throughout his career. He even appeared in a commercial during the Super Bowl, the biggest day of the year for advertising. Still, his $7 million annually in endorsements is a pittance in sports. The smooth shortstop plays for the historic Yankees franchise, is well-known nationally for his World Series appearances, yet he earns the same amount as Denver bad-boy guard Allan Iverson.

2. Alex Rodriguez: His ridiculous move to announce his free agency during the World Series could have been a fatal blow, but he smartly re-signed a lengthy contract with the Yankees, and his miscue has been forgotten. His good looks and sensational play are a marketer’s dream. Yet he and teammate Jeter split the big New York market, hurting both in the endorsement world. The best is yet to come: His expected run at Barry Bonds’ home run mark around the 2013 season will launch him into the marketing stratosphere.

I was surprised Sweet didn’t mention anything about Jeter’s tax problems with the State of New York during the offseason. Even though the incident has been cleared up, it still was an embarrassing moment for the Captain’s “clean image”. A-Rod could run into a few problems if these allegations by Jose Canseco in his new book find some legs. The New York press will undoubtedly do their best to make a story out of it.

As a consumer, I’m not exactly sure why people feel that they need to buy a product if an athlete endorses it. I mean, did Joe Dimaggio really like the Mr. Coffee machine when he started pitching for the company back in the early 70’s? Did Scooter really do business at the Money Store? Are you telling me that Michael Jordan and Cuba Gooding Jr. wear Hanes underwear and Jeter drives a Ford?

I’ve always found that very funny.

Hat tip to BTF.