Elena Delle Donne is carving out a lucrative endorsement business on her way to future stardom in the WNBA.
Recently, DuPont announced that the company has joined Nike and Genesis Today as a sponsor of Delle Donne.
The University of Delaware standout, now with the Chicago Sky WNBA team, is enjoying one of the best rookie debuts in the history of the WNBA. She recently earned Rookie of the Month and Player of the Week honors from the league, while piling up the most All Star votes.
Her performance has also improved the record of the Sky, a perennial .500 team in the league. “This is a great match for DuPont and particularly the Nutrition & Health business which focuses on delivering food ingredients that are packed with nutrition, improving health and providing great taste,” said Craig F. Binetti, president of DuPont Nutrition & Health in announcing the sponsorship. “We’re eager to work with Elena to bring attention to the importance of good nutrition as a gateway to good health.” DuPont has a major presence in the ingredients business with the acquisition of Danisco, a Danish company.
“While DuPont is a global company, they’re headquartered in Wilmington, Del. That’s my hometown, which makes this association especially meaningful to me. I am really looking forward to partnering with DuPont to bring attention to topics I care about so much,” Delle Donne said.
DuPont is using the remainder of this year to develop a plan over a three-year period, starting in 2014, to align the sponsorship with the company’s efforts to bring science to address the challenge of nutrition in both developed and developing nations. DuPont will announce the details of its plan in January. In the meantime, Delle Donne is embracing Chicago as her new basketball home, a move that could lead to further endorsement deals in one of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.
Writing in a blog on her website,. Delle Donne acknowledges that she is a Chicago Cubs fan and recently adopted a Great Dane puppy with the name Wrigley. On a WNBA blog she praised the food offerings of the city, including its deep dish pizza. The website also includes a section on basketball camps, although none have been scheduled.
A key to her success on the marketing front has been her family, including brother Gene, who works as her agent, according to an article in Forbes.com. Her father, Ernie Delle Donne, is a well-known local developer and was selected to develop the new STAR campus at Elena’s alma mater. The web piece goes on to note that Delle Donne, Diggins and Griner have sparked renewed interest in the WNBA, with TV ratings showing gains over previous years. Sports network ESPN has also highlighted her work in community service, driven in part by the close relationship with her sister who has cerebral palsy and other conditions.
Meanwhile, Delaware has not lost interest. Buses have been chartered for Chicago Sky games on the East Coast and some fans are buying tickets to Chicago on Frontier Airlines. Frontier offers fares as low as $110 round-trip from New Castle Airport, also known as Wilmington/Philadelphia, to the Windy City.
