Formula 1 - The Lewis Hamilton franchise

Every time Lewis Hamilton wins a title, race tickets are worth double and the stock market goes wild, perhaps investing on the 'Hamilton Franchise' is a lucrative idea.

With only 23 years old, Hamilton recently became the youngest Formula 1 World Champion ever, and the chances of becoming the first billionaire sportsperson in Britain are around the corner.

There is no doubt that Lewis Hamilton may have a chance to outranked Tiger Woods as the world's highest paid sportsman, because it is still unknown if Woods would earn $1 billion by 2010. Perhaps it will take Hamilton a while to reach such a figure, but he is in a good track.

There is no official document regarding Hamilton's earnings, thus it was said that the McLaren contract is worth $116 million plus an additional $31 million from Reebok and those figures do not count the additional marketing, presentations, private contracts, TV ratings, etc... Approximately 10 years ago when Hamilton was still a rookie go-kart pilot, many sports companies were putting bids on the question: will he be able to win the F1 title before turning 25 years old? Well, if you put money on that, congratulations, because the investment on Hamilton sure paid you off.

Lewis Hamilton is definitely a franchise dream, with a charming personality, formative years and prominent victories. Hamilton is the kind of box office hit that appeals both genres with an unpredictable combination of races in black and white background.

At this point in time Hamilton is such a commercial hit, that the McLaren team had to pass a new rule to the drivers, as they can only have sponsors linked to the team itself and not outsiders. If Hamilton continues the racing accomplishments until the year 2012 when the McLaren contract has to be renewed, it is a fact that he will receive $47 million a year and his wages may go to $781 million. If the numbers match on that period of time, Hamilton will definitely exceed Michael Schumacher's pay packet and David Beckham's commercial dream, thus becoming Britain's maximum earning sports celebrity to date.

Hamilton is in the course of building a foundation based on bighearted donations; the potential receivers remain mysterious still, though not to long ago, he did state the importance of the African people. The idea sounds very promising and open hearted, but still looking forward to keep enough cash on the banks accounts will rely on his success on the F1; plus, the chase for new titles must remain flowing on a competitive manner.

Thinking on the present day, Hamilton's success is in every single blog and newspaper across the planet, many companies are desperate and eager for his support, even if that means a ridiculous amount of money. Right now Hamilton is the man and it looks like it would be that way for a while. So, who knows maybe instead of risking your futures on the stock market or the oil business, you could put some of your profits on Hamilton... anyway no matter with he does, it always pays double.