"At 80 years of age he will still be endorseable."
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Liam Kelly auditions as Padraig Harrington's ghostwriter by penning this breathless Belfast Telegraph take on the new Open Championship winner's potential earnings.
Clean-cut hero Pádraig Harrington can comfortably smash the €100m barrier in lifetime earnings after his historic British Open victory at Carnoustie.Ahhh, now the fun...
Winning the Open Championship means that Pádraig Harrington Inc becomes a global brand and elevates the 35-year-old to a new level of financial worth.
The Dubliner, who proved nice guys can win Major titles, could sit back and let the cheques roll in for the rest of his career.
Remember that John Daly, winner of two Majors, admits to having gambled away €48m as part of a chaotic lifestyle.
That's not going to happen to Harrington whose image reflects the real thing - he's open, honest, reliable, responsible, hardworking, level-headed, articulate and a good family man.
Jeese, does he rescue dogs from burning buildings too? Can we get him a Mutual of Omaha campaign?
Throw 'successful champion golfer' into that mix and it's a licence to print money.
Kelly was out of breath at this point, so he let someone at IMG take over:
Roddy Carr, a former professional who was an executive with IMG, knows the sports marketing business inside out. He would not put a figure on Harrington's potential - "Adrian Mitchell is his manager and you'd have to ask him that" - but he was unequivocal about the new Champion's marketability.
"Start multiplying . . . for a start this victory establishes Pádraig as an iconic athlete in Ireland for the rest of his lifetime. At 80 years of age he will still be endorseable.
Padraig can look forward to Cialis or Depends ads.
"Even if he never wins another Major, he will always have that special status in Ireland. But you also have to realise this achievement qualifies him for elite status in global markets.
"Pádraig is almost 36 now and he's fit as a fiddle. He could have 20 more years playing and earning at a high level and he's a perfect long term investment for sponsors," he said.
"The great thing about Pádraig is that he won't be blown away by all this and go chasing money for its own sake.
No, that'll be for the agents to do.
