International tennis hottie Rafael Nadal is the youngest player ever to complete a tennis “Grand Slam,” has won every major tennis tournament worldwide and holds an Olympic medal. But now he can really consider his career made: He’s landed a spot in the pantheon of sexy male athletes with fashion campaigns. Tommy Hilfiger named him the line’s global brand ambassador for several of their collections (including underwear!).
Courtesy Tommy Hilfiger
“Rafael embodies an effortless sense of style that exemplifies and reflects our brand spirit – he’s confident, fun and cool,” Hilfiger said in a statement. Nadal added “I’ve always admired Tommy Hilfiger’s cool, all-American designs which are sophisticated and easy to wear, and I’m excited to be partnering with the brand.”
We’re personally excited for the sure-to-be-smokin’-hot images of Nadal modeling the designer’s preppy, tailored clothes. But since we have to wait until fall 2015 to see them, we rounded up some other notable sports hunks who have starred in ad campaigns and shared them with you, below.
Courtesy H&M
alt=”David Beckham H&M” border=”0″ /> Courtesy H&M
David Beckham: Victoria‘s husband stars in so many ad campaigns, you might guess that modeling is his full-time job and soccer is his hobby. He’s reliably shirtless in his H&M underwear ads, and he’s also starred in campaigns for Emporio Armani, his own cologne and Breitling watches.
Courtesy Calvin Klein
Ryan Lochte: The swimming superstar teamed up with Ireland Baldwin for a series of blonde-haired, blue-eyed shots (themed “American Icons”) for Calvin Klein White Label. And even the professional model found herself dazzled by his noteworthy abs. “Ryan got shirtless right away — as he should!” she said. “He didn’t really give me any tips because I was squeezing my abs trying to get like him.” And they both agreed: Lochte was “a natural” at modeling.
Courtesy Emporio Armani
Cristiano Ronaldo: David Beckham isn’t the only soccer star lending his abs to a major underwear campaign. The caption of the Portugese national team (and Real Madrid forward) shot a series of scorching ads for Emporio Armani. You may remember them as the ones costarring Megan Fox — although, given his bod, you may not remember her at all.
Courtesy Under Armour
Tom Brady: The New England Patriots player has picked up a modeling tip or two from his supermodel wife Gisele Bündchen — but on the other hand, with his golden-retriever good looks, it’s possible no help was ever needed. The star QB and his wife both serve as faces of UnderArmour, and he’s also picked up gigs for Stetson cologne and UGG boots.
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Courtesy Under Armour
More Tom Brady: Speaking of UGG boots, as it turns out, there’s another model in the Bündchen-Brady household: Dog Lua, who stars in his UGG ads with him.
Courtesy Jockey
Tim Tebow: In his role as a Jockey spokesman, the football player walked the runway — but unlike many of his athlete/model brethren, he kept his clothes on. “For me, it’s not about walking down the runway in just my underwear,” he told PEOPLE at the time. “I’m really trying to represent Jockey in the right way. They do things with class, and I want to do the same. I just focus on telling people what I like.”
Courtesy Louis Vuitton
Michael Phelps: The Olympic swimming superstar tried out a very different look than we’re used to — a three-piece suit vs. a tiny Speedo — for Louis Vuitton. (To be fair, he also took a Speedo pic.)
Courtesy Lacoste
Andy Roddick: And of course, it makes sense that an Anna Wintour fave like tennis superstar Andy Roddick would land an ad campaign — in his case, Lacoste’s fragrance. And he also got the thumbs-up from his supermodel wife Brooklyn Decker: “She was excited about it and kind of saw the campaign and she actually liked it so that was a relief.”
Whose sexy campaign was your fave? What sports star do you want to have his own campaign next?
–Alex Apatoff
