The Great American Pursuit: A Study of Athlete Signing Fees 1970s-present

boxcar18 · #1 05-25-2013, 11:29 AM

I helped promote shows in the 1980's and 1990's in the Midwest. Below are some of the prices we charged for baseballs and flats. We paid Mantle & Ford $12500.00 for four hours. DiMaggio got $25000.00 for four hours and we also had to pay first class airfair , limo from the airport, and a suite at the hotel in Springfield,Il. Most of the other Hall of Famers would sign for four hours for fees from $1000.00 - $2500.00 and they would get to the show on their own.

Mickey Mantle & Whitey Ford (one of each) $20.00
Joe DiMaggio $25.00
Ozzie Smith $10.00
Warren Spahn $10.00
Bob Feller $10.00
Lou Brock $10.00
Bob Gibson $10.00
Eddie Mathews $10.00
Al Kaline $10.00
Stan Musial $10.00
I also went to other shows and paid $20.00 each for Ted Williams and Mantle, Sandy Koufax $20.00, Bill Dickey $20.00. Carl Hubbell used to sign for us in the mail for $10.00 for baseballs.Purchased 5 dozen baseballs signed by Ted Williams for $250.00 a dozen when the show was hit by a snow storm and attendance was small.

mr2686 · #2 05-25-2013, 11:32 AM

I will point out, if you're just concerned with overall charge per autograph, you can go on to the mab-celebrity website and access their upcoming shows. At the bottom of the page you can see past shows back to 2003 and they list the prices that were being charged. I recommend checking each year's HOF show in July that they put on.

cjedmonton · #3 05-25-2013, 11:52 AM

Great insight/feedback so far!

In my OP, I acknowledge that the promoter's cut has taken a steep climb, but that can't be the only factor to explain the jump over the years.

Surely, the athlete is privvy to the value of his signature and charges accordingly. They are also well aware of the opportunists whose main focus is to flip the signed item for a quick profit. I recall reading somewhere that many athletes build in a certain amount for "deterrent" in their fees so as to make it more difficult for someone to profit from their signature. If that is even partially true, I couldn't imagine what Mantle/DiMaggio/Williams would charge in 2013.

Either way, this is not easily proven/disproven. I was just interested in the overall trend over the years, rather than a year-by-year recap of prices from a single promoter.

Mr. Zipper · #4 05-25-2013, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boxcar18

Mickey Mantle & Whitey Ford (one of each) $20.00
Joe DiMaggio $25.00
Ozzie Smith $10.00
Warren Spahn $10.00
Bob Feller $10.00
Lou Brock $10.00
Bob Gibson $10.00
Eddie Mathews $10.00
Al Kaline $10.00
Stan Musial $10.00
I also went to other shows and paid $20.00 each for Ted Williams and Mantle, Sandy Koufax $20.00, Bill Dickey $20.00. Carl Hubbell used to sign for us in the mail for $10.00 for baseballs.Purchased 5 dozen baseballs signed by Ted Williams for $250.00 a dozen when the show was hit by a snow storm and attendance was small.

Add the cost of a ball and the signing fee and adjust for inflation, they are all losers with the exception of Mantle, DiMaggio, Williams and Koufax.

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