Rafael Nadal will succeed soccer stars David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo as the face of Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani jeans. Male tennis players have been featured prominently in underwear ads before. Sweden’s Bjorn Borg once had his own brand in Sweden, while Patrick Rafter is the face of Bonds underwear in Australia.
Nadal is said to have earned $21 million over the past year from prize money and sponsorships. He has big deals with an insurance company, a car company, Nike and Babolat. Armani’s profit fell 28 percent last year.—Matthew Cronin