DANICA PATRICK, the popular IndyCar Series driver, has moved to the more lucrative NASCAR series in a deal that was financially fuelled by her long-term sponsor GoDaddy.com.
Under the new deal, the web-hosting provider GoDaddy.com will sponsor Patrick’s NASCAR Nationwide series JR Motorsport car in 2012 and the Stewart-Haas Racing Chevy for eight-to-10 Sprint Cup races in 2013.
According to Frontiers, GoDaddy.com formerly paid Patrick around $5 million per year over three years between 2009-2012 in a personal endorsement deal, on top of the $10m-$15m per annum commitment to Andretti Autosports for its main team sponsorship.
With the extra profile enjoyed by NASCAR, the value of Patrick’s driving contract should receive an immediate uplift. However, according to Forbes.com, the real payoff for Patrick will come in even greater licensing and sponsorship revenue.
The top drivers pull in more than $2 million annually from licensing revenues, Forbes.com said, while the potential uplift in personal sponsorship income could see Patrick challenge Maria Sharapova as the world’s highest paid female athlete at $25m per annum.
GoDaddy.com, it should be noted, has not pulled out of IndyCar altogether. Less than 24 hours after the announcement regarding Danica's switch, GoDaddy announced that they would continue as a primary sponsor of one of the Andretti Autosport cars for the next two seasons.
The company is also signing up Mario, Michael and Marco Andretti as company spokespeople, which will see all three of them front TV commercials in the US.