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- The SI King 23 Nov 2009
  CNBC's Darren Rovell has the story on Scott Smith putting his Sports Illustrated collection on sale.
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  CNBC's Darren Rovell follows the money and the future of Notre Dame head football coach, Charlie Weis, after another disappointing season.
- The Future of the NFL 20 Nov 2009
  Discussing the state of the game, with Tom Condon, CAA Sports and CNBC's Darren Rovell.
- Lebron's Number 13 Nov 2009
  Lebron James tells fans he will likely ditch the number 23 next year. CNBC's Darren Rovell has the story.
- The Bullet-Proof Idea? 13 Nov 2009
  Discussing bullet-proof sports equipment, with Rob Vito, Unequal Technologies president and CNBC's Darren Rovell.
- Celtics Courting Fans 11 Nov 2009
  The Boston Celtics are working hard to keep fans, with CNBC's Darren Rovell and Celtics president Rich Gotham.

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CNBC ON DIGG

When Does Dale Earnhardt Jr. Become Unmarketable?

Published: Wednesday, 14 Oct 2009 | 10:32 AM ET

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By: Darren Rovell
CNBC Sports Business Reporter

How long can an athlete endure a losing streak without it significantly affecting his or her marketability?

The auto racing world has put that question to the test.

Danica Patrick has won just 1 of 81 IRL races (1.23%). But Dale Earnhardt Jr. has Patrick easily beat on that winning percentage. “Little E” has won 1 of the last 129 Sprint Cup races (0.77%) and he’s 0 for the last 51.

Yet, Earnhardt seems to be humming along in the business world. This week, Nationwide announced this week it was renewing its deal with him and we just got the NASCAR.com SuperStore sales rankings and guess what? Earnhardt is in his familiar No. 1 spot. Here’s the list of the Top 10 best-selling drivers on the Web site:

Top 10 Best-Selling Drivers

DRIVER

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

2. Tony Stewart

3. Jeff Gordon

4. Jimmie Johnson

5. NASCAR-branded items

6. Kyle Busch

7. Carl Edwards

8. Kasey Kahne

9. Mark Martin

10. Dale Earnhardt Sr.

With the exception of maybe Anna Kournikova, there has never been an athlete in the history of sports who has been so popular over such a long period of time with such little success.

Earnhardt, who recently turned 35, is clearly running out of time to live up to his last name. But at least his last name is making a living for him.

Questions? Comments?

Topics:Consumers | Marketing | Advertising | Sports