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Derek Jeter makes millions of dollars, lives in opulent apartments and dates some of the world’s most beautiful women. But the most amazing thing about the superstar shortstop is that — until now — we haven’t really noticed.
To fans, Jeter is an average dude, an everyguy with whom you could share a beer. Like Bruce Springsteen, he’s rich but not flashy, someone who became successful because of hard work as much as talent.
But that carefully cultivated image took a beating in the past two weeks, as Jeter’s contract negotiations with the Yankees became a very public game of chicken. Yankee management offered him $45 million for three years, but Jeter’s agent reportedly wanted closer to $20 million a year for four or five years.
Coming off a year where he batted .270 — and in the middle of a recession — it seemed too greedy. A New York Post poll found 75% of fans put Jeter in the wrong. He is Mr. November, a guy who should retire in pinstripes. But how much is just too much? The two sides came to an agreement yesterday, but in the end, what Jeter loses in goodwill could outweigh the financial gain from his new contract.
Jeter’s dilemma highlights the various flavors of fame: We want different things from our different stars.
All celebrity, whether in sports or Hollywood, rests on more than talent alone. It thrives on fans’ collective fascination with specific facets of their persona that transcend their talent. We may love to hate them, be in love with them, admire or revile them, but our connection to their persona must remain consistent.
For stars who are famous for conspicuous consumption, your Kim Kardashians and Paris Hiltons, excess is celebrated. They are aspirational celebrities, not relatable. When Jennifer Lopez causes a scene about the dollars on her contract, we are not surprised. This is a woman whose celebrity partially hinges on being a diva. We may roll our eyes when Mariah Carey insists on white roses and bendy straws (for her champagne) when she’s on concert tour but she’s not led us to expect anything else.
Similarly, Charlie Sheen stays on television even though he sent a porn star scurrying into the bathroom — because it doesn’t contractict what we think about him. Tiger Woods, though, was a clean-cut family man before his porn stars came out of the closet.
Jeter is a ballplayer above all. He is not a part time underwear model like David Beckham or a serial celebrity dater like A-Rod. While the gossip columns have a healthy appetite for details on Jeter’s personal life, he is far less vainglorious than those of other celebrated athletes. Sure he dates good-looking women — why wouldn’t you if you were a major league athlete? But none of those women have said anything unkind about him, nor has he been accused of infidelity. And sure he’s been seen at big New York clubs, but then again it’s de rigueur for the Yankees to hit the nightlife circuit. In other words, more than anything Jeter seems like a nice guy who is unimpressed and uninterested in the accoutrements of his celebrity status.
The haggling over a $45 million contract by a guy who doesn’t seem to care about (and certainly doesn’t need) money is antithetical to our perception of Jeter the everyman. It would be one thing for A-Rod to have a temper tantrum, the public expects such antics from him. But from Jeter, the consummate professional and unpretentious accidental celebrity? Not so much.
Jeter should take note: Those everyman stars who display greediness tend to pay a social price. When Kate Gosselin transformed from an overtired mom of eight living in rural Pennsylvania to a seemingly money-hungry, celebrity-obsessed woman who spends $7,000 on her hair, she went from a sympathetic character to a woman whom US Weekly described as turning from “Mom to Monster.”
Politicians run perhaps the greatest risk of contradicting our perceptions. They run on the “I am you” platform and yet too often get caught taking lobbyist money and attending lavish parties. Voters weren’t too keen when Sarah Palin ditched her hockey mom image and spent $150,000 on her campaign wardrobe. To cultivate frugality and humility, some freshman Congressmen are rumored to be sleeping on the floors of their offices. Will they be called out for taking the private jet in four years?
Jeter needs to be faithful to the type of celebrity he has cultivated. At present, he is considered the most marketable baseball player around and makes many millions in endorsements annually, more than even A-Rod. These endorsements can be partially explained by the perfect brew of talent and lack of airs that Jeter consistently conveys. He shouldn’t wreck this reputation and ruin the celebrity we’ve come to love (not love to hate as is the case with many of our stars).
Jeter should never have played hardball.
Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Policy, Planning and Development, is the author of “Starstruck: The Business of Celebrity” (Faber & Faber), out now.