A national league

The Red Sox are the newest champions to grace the cover of a Wheaties box. But with what the team was paid for the deal, it couldn't even buy a box of Wheaties.

That's because Wheaties struck the deal with Major League Baseball and the most prominently featured player on the box, slugger David Ortiz -- not with the Red Sox.

Though the Boston franchise certainly stands to gain financially from its World Series win and growing presence on the national marketing stage, the league and individual high-profile players stand to gain more. Already, Red Sox star players are getting offers from everyone from automakers to fast-food chains.

"The Red Sox win was so significant that Wheaties is doing a Breakfast of Champions box that will sell nationwide for a number of months," said John Brody, the league's senior vice president of corporate sales and marketing.

Neither Major League Baseball nor General Mills Inc., the maker of Wheaties, would say how much the Wheaties deal was worth. But the money generated by this and other national Red Sox advertising deals goes directly to the league, not the team, to be divvied up equally by all 30 franchises. Neither Red Sox management nor Ortiz's agent returned phone calls on the issue.

In fact, Major League teams cede their rights to market themselves on a national stage to Major League Baseball. So the Red Sox aren't allowed to strike advertising deals outside of New England. Team sponsors, even those that do business nationwide, such as Dunkin' Donuts, can run their team-related ads only in the region -- unless, of course, they strike a separate deal with the league.

The rationale, according to the league, is to protect the sanctity of each team's home media market, preventing the Red Sox from encroaching on Yankee territory or vice versa. It also helps even the playing field across the league. If a Red Sox win helps generate more interest in the storied team for national ad campaigns, as some early signs suggest, it helps all of baseball, not just Boston.

"You couldn't have written a better story for baseball," said Paul Swangard, director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. "At a time when baseball is just regaining some of the momentum it lost to the players strike, the Red Sox have a unique role in bringing baseball back."

The team graced the cover of Time magazine. David Letterman and Jay Leno invited Red Sox players to be guests on their late-night shows. Anheuser-Busch Inc., a Major League Baseball and Red Sox team sponsor, took out a full-page ad this week in USA Today celebrating the team's victory. During the post-season, league sponsors Nike Inc. and MasterCard International Inc. created national ad campaigns aimed at Red Sox Nation.

With the approval of the league, the Walt Disney Co. swooped in immediately after the team's World Series victory, striking deals with pitchers Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez and slugger Ortiz to film one of its trademark "What's Next?" ads. The spot, with the players answering in Spanish -- a first for the ad campaign -- ran on ABC, Fox, Telemundo, and Univision. It was also the first "What's Next?" spot featuring World Series champs since 1988.

"We don't do every World Series," said Michael Mendenhall, executive vice president of global marketing for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. "The Red Sox triumphed after all these years. They reversed the curse. It's a moment that will go down in sports history."

Whether the October buzz extends into next season and beyond, elevating the Red Sox and its players into national marketers on par with the New York Yankees and players like Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, remains to be seen.

Oregon's Swangard is skeptical: "The window for World Champions is pretty finite."

If the Red Sox don't post a strong performance next season, the window will certainly close before next October. But if they come back competitive, Kim Zayotti, cofounder and vice president of Boston sports agents Blue Sky Sports & Entertainment, believes the team and its players have staying power.

National deals are already in the works, and players like Schilling, Martinez, Ortiz, Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, and Jason Varitek are getting offers from automakers, soft-drink companies, and fast-food chains, said Zayotti, who's worked with Damon, Kevin Millar, and other Sox players on marketing deals.

Though Red Sox players promote products in New England, they are rarely heard on the national marketing scene. Brands want to associate themselves with winners, and let's face it, the Red Sox hadn't been winners in a very long time. But since the World Series, Zayotti said, appearance and sponsorship fees have tripled for the team's top players and doubled for its utility players.

Often, she said, it's more economical for a company to sign a player or two to national advertising contracts than it is to become an official sponsor of Major League Baseball. Though only the league can give advertisers permission to use team logos, uniforms, and ballparks in national ads, most viewers don't need to be told that players like Martinez, Schilling, and Damon play for the Red Sox.

"When advertisers sign on with particular players, they're also getting a piece of the team," she said.

Naomi Aoki can be reached at naoki@globe.com.