Jeremy Lin's Brand Value Seen Understated at $14 Mil.

Lindorsements: Jeremy Lin's brand value is likely to be far higher than the $14 million estimated by Forbes.

Given the frenzied adulation Jeremy Lin inspires on both sides of the Pacific, his brand value may be grossly understated at the $14 mil. estimated earlier this week by Forbes, according to experts in the Asian American market.

Forbes placed an estimate of $14 million on Lin’s brand value by allocating to him about half of the roughly $28 million value of the 66% increase in the TV ratings of Knicks games since his breakout February 4 game against the Nets — the first of seven wins led by Jeremy Lin (though he didn’t officially become the Knicks starting point guard until the subsequent game).

“That sounds low,” said Shi Kagy, sales director of Asian Media Group which specializes in digital marketing to Asians in America. “As an Asian American Jeremy is someone more Americans can relate to than an overseas player like Yao Ming. And his Cinderella story gives him that affinity factor with people who feel under-appreciated. That’s valuable in marketing.

“Look at Tiger Woods. Forbes puts his brand value at $55 million and he isn’t generating the kind of excitement Jeremy is. Jeremy’s also stirring up excitement all over Asia — even in non-Chinese-speaking countries like Korea and Japan.”

The natural comparison that comes to mind is with Yao Ming. In 2003, Yao’s first full year in the NBA, he earned at least 500 million yuan ($80 mil.) through endorsement deals with Gatorade, China Unicom and various other firms on both sides of the Pacific.

Now only 12 days into his stint as the NBA’s fastest-rising star, Jeremy Lin is already known by about 38% of US consumers — the same level as Ichiro Suzuki, Kyle Busch, Ozzie Smith, Brian Urlacher and Kevin Durant, according to Omnicom’s sports marketing subsidiary TheMarketingArm.

The firm’s celeb-ranking database puts Lin at number 854 among 2,800 listed personalities — the neighborhood of Jim Carrey, Dwight Howard, Jamie Foxx and Erin Andrews.

In terms of pop cultural influence Lin is already ranked number 43 — up in the stratosphere with Steven Spielberg, Eli Manning, J-Lo, Jerry Rice, Hank Aaron and Reese Witherspoon.

As a trendsetter Lin is ranked number 78 by consumers — about like pop stars Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Usher, and Olmpic gold-medal snowboarder Shaun White.

Most importantly, perhaps, the arc of Lin’s meteoric rise puts him on a trajectory to reach the top 25 — right near Denzel Washington, John Elway, George Clooney and Cal Ripken, according to Mediapost.

So far the only products being sold under Lin’s name are his number 17 Knicks jerseys. They’re already outselling those of every other NBA star.

But Lin’s potential as a marketing asset can be gleaned from his halo effect on Madison Square Garden, the Knicks home arena. MSG share prices surged 6% from $29.32 on February 4 to $31.15 on February 14 — a $139 million boost despite negative news like a 22% profit decline and its battle against Time Warner. During that period the S&P 500 rose less than 1%.

So how much can Jeremy Lin expect to reap in endorsement?

“They say Tiger Woods’ brand was worth $1.2 billion just before he crashed his Escalade,” says Kagy. “But, you know, somehow I don’t think Jeremy Lin is about the money. I think he’s about the fun of playing ball. Maybe that’s what makes him so valuable.”