German Fernandez seen walking around Nike Corp in Beaverton.

Otis Spunk wrote:

What could this mean?

That he was visiting Nike Corp in Beaverton?

I thought he would be visiting the Adidas corp?

ive been to the nike corp before. shit i think this means im going to go pro!

I went to a Nike and Adidas outlet store the other day so I am on the fence which way to go.

He was also checking out the Portland state campus.Hmmmmm...

I don't know if this is total BS or not, but it is true that GF is running out of things to prove on the college level. He has not won NCAA XC, but that's it. So turning pro next December makes a lot of sense.

I'd be willing to take wagers from all comers. I'll give 2:1 odds that German is going to go pro within the next 90 days. Face it, even though he has never won an NCAA XC title, he obviously has financial needs, the same needs that led him to take a full ride at OSU, as opposed to lesser money at better track schools around the country. He has to be looking at it as an opportunity that may not be there should he get injured again.

A full ride at OSU is worth what, like $25k/year? How much would a pro contract with NIKE be worth, like $100k/year? more? Seems like a no brainer to me. It's his life though.

For someone with his talent it would be much better if he turned pro and took classes part time at one of the Oregon schools. You can only compete at the top level for so long, therefore he might as well capatilize on his fitness before he goes over the hill.

$100k Salary from nike

$15k tuition they'll pay for

$25k prize money

$140k to go pro. I think he should do it.

I know a 3:35 1500 meter runner who got $75,000 base salary, so I don't think German will get $100,000 unless thats counting appearance bonuses and other such bonuses. But German would still be making a good amount of money for doing what he loves!

Contract value isn't all about times, records, wins, or podium finishes; those things only matter inasmuch as they generate hype. And, in German's case, there's a metric shit-ton of hype.

It's worked marvelously for Evan Jager and I think it could work well with German - AS LONG AS - he still gets his degree at a 4 year university. That way he'll have something to fall back on.

I wonder if he's trying to hook up with the OTC group.

In any case - foregoing the NCAA system is the best thing he could do.

I can't remember where I read it recently, either in the latest track and field news or in an online article, but Fernandez says that he plans to graduate because he will be the first person in his family to finish college and he wants to have something to fall back on when his running days are over.

sbeefyk1 wrote:

I know a 3:35 1500 meter runner who got $75,000 base salary, so I don't think German will get $100,000 unless thats counting appearance bonuses and other such bonuses. But German would still be making a good amount of money for doing what he loves!

It's not necessarily about how fast you run. It's about how big your name is. German Fernandez is one of the biggest names in American distance running right now. It doesn't matter that his times are relatively mediocre compared to USA elite. He's a star, and since he's young, it's likely he will improve quite a bit over the next several years. In less than one year he improved from 4:01 and ~7:55 to 3:55 and 7:47, and he's the AJR holder at 5000m. It wouldn't be unreasonable to believe in another 1-3 years he'll be running 3:51/7:35/13:10 or there abouts.

He's worth a lot of money.

He plans to graduate - but that doesn't mean he'll run with the college he graduates from.

asdsd. wrote:

It's worked marvelously for Evan Jager and I think it could work well with German - AS LONG AS - he still gets his degree at a 4 year university. That way he'll have something to fall back on.

I wonder if he's trying to hook up with the OTC group.

In any case - foregoing the NCAA system is the best thing he could do.

What's so bad about the NCAA system? He does not race often, most top programs don't. He has a free place to live, free education and training partners along with a free coach and he can pick and choose his races. What is so bad abbout that?

I'm not claiming to be an expert on how nike sets up their contracts, but it seems reasonable to me that Nike would pay Fernandez more for two reasons. One might be bigger name recognition ( hard to know without knowing your 3:35 guy),]. Second is locking him up for a few years and hoping he begins to reach his potential. It's likely that the new 5k jr record holder may have more impressive races in his near future. I think this is why webb got such a big initial contract and while he isn't on webb's level in both regards, half of webb's contract is 125,00 a year. That doesn't seem too unrealistic.

yeah, but college is so awesome, so whose all in a rush to leave?

Nut Doctor wrote:

I don't know if this is total BS or not, but it is true that GF is running out of things to prove on the college level. He has not won NCAA XC, but that's it. So turning pro next December makes a lot of sense.

It has very little to do with what other runners are paid and more to do with what other shoe companies are interested in signing him. The more shoe companies interested, the higher the price goes. I would imagine him getting a base somewhere in the $90-120k per year (again, depends on how bad the shoe companies want him), plus bonuses and rollovers and tuition.