ESPN discussion: Usain Bolt's potential as wide receiver

I live in america and for the most part i will say that americans are just plain stupidbtw who the hell is zlatan ibrahimovic? I know who Usain Bolt is

Sorry sports fans... the best athletes go where the money is. I'm sorry if he hurts your egos and slows down your idealistic thinking. It's cute though.

What do you think Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, and Deion Sanders would have done in Track & Field?

We would have seen if there was REAL money in it.

They made the right choices. Even Bolt admits his priorities (legend = money, fast cars).

BTW - Michael Jordan never would have slowed down in a game 80% into it, regardless of inevitable result.

[quote]nyer1 wrote:

I live in america and for the most part i will say that americans are just plain stupid

btw who the hell is zlatan ibrahimovic? I know who Usain Bolt is

[quote]Swede. wrote:

How the hell do you not know this??

You are proof that America is so conceded and stupid.

watch this video..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgqsaDnsEq8

Ed Reed would lay Usain Bolt out, Shawn Crawford would do well in the NFL though

I just finished watching the Brussels Golden League meet. They said that Bolt's appearance fee was $250k.

I'll assume Zurich gave him something similar last week. Also, Bolt is getting $500k in an appearance fee to run in Shanghai later this month. And, this does not count endorsements and personal appearances (Real Madrid paid him big bucks to attend their opener late last month).

Bottom line, unless some NFL team wants to pay him "Tom Brady money," he takes a financial step backwards going to the NFL. The guy is making a $1 million a month for less than 10 seconds of work. He going to trade this in for a $1 million a season so d-backs can crush him? Please.

And, for the record, if he did go, he would break all of Jerry Rice's records and would be in the team photo as one of the greatest players ever. He's that good and you'll understand when he breaks the Long Jump and 400 WRs.

Swede. wrote:

You are proof that America is so conceded and stupid.

]

conceited

You must be pretty flustrated rite now.

All 6'5", 190lbs of Bolt would be turned into broken bones and smashed organs in the NFL.

He needs to put on another 40lbs before evening thinking of touching a football.

Bolt is probably "too fast" for the long jump. The Carl Lewis's and Marion Jones's of the world are the exception not the rule. If the top sprinters mades the best long jumpers there would be more of them.

Alan

Runningart2004 wrote:

Bolt is probably "too fast" for the long jump. The Carl Lewis's and Marion Jones's of the world are the exception not the rule. If the top sprinters mades the best long jumpers there would be more of them.

Alan

Only Carl Lewis and Marion Jones? What about Jesse Owens, Ralph Boston, Larry Myricks and Jackie Joyner Kersee? Dwight Phillips was a world class sprinter. The list is far longer than you believe.

By too fast, I assume you mean running out of control. Are you not paying attention? He looks like he's jogging when he runs a 9.9. He could maintain a speed that no other long jumper has ever done and still hit the board perfectly.

Mike Powell thinks he could break his WR of 8.95m and has offered to train Bolt. I'm guessing he is a little more qualified than you on these matters.

Also, given his size and lanky build, he could also destroy the 110 hurdles record as well.

Finally, Bolt's PR in the 400 is 45.07 but it has been over two years since he has run it. At that time he had yet to break 9.8 in the 100. Now he is at 9.58.

Runningart2004 wrote:

Bolt is probably "too fast" for the long jump.

Alan

These kinds of statements are why everyone thinks you're stupid.

get ugly wrote:

Runningart2004 wrote:

Bolt is probably "too fast" for the long jump.

Alan

These kinds of statements are why everyone thinks you're stupid.

That's because most people don't understand the physics of the long jump.

I wonder how fast Beamon was?

Does Asafa Powell long jump? Tyson Gay? Name me one current top sprinter who long jumps? Do you know why?

They lack single effort power. This is also why when you see a top ten list of indoor 50 ad 60m times they are much different than the top oudoor 100m times. The 50 and 60m has much more to do with power than actual speed.

There are always exceptions, Lewis, Owens, etc...but these are like I said exceptions.

If the best sprinters made the best long jumpers you'd see a lot more of them than you currently do.

Alan

I'm sure Mike Powell could break 10 in his prime.

Most current world class sprinters are on drugs and cannot take the abuse of jumping 5 rounds and running 3 rounds per running event.

It was also said that Sergey Bubka had world class sprinter speed when he set the the indoor and outdoor pole vault records.

Rainy Day wrote:

Americans are talking about it because we are in America. Bolt is the only track star that makes anywhere near what a top NFL receiver makes, but only due to endorsements. That is part of the reason the US is starting to lose their sprint dominance, because our best athletes play other sports and can make a lot more doing so. Last I checked, the Jamaican Basketball League didn't have too many $100 million contracts.

Good excuse but what about the women's sprints?

..and on the men's side its always been the case that there is more money in other sports.

Nehemiah's comment was playing football was not like hitting a hurdle but rather the hurdle hitting you.

Usain Bolt will become the first track sprinter in history who does not need to play another sport to maximize his earning potential. The guy's getting $750,000-$1,000,000 appearance fees already. Larry Fitzgerald, the best paid wide receiver in the NFL, made $17,103,480 last season, and he spent years proving himself to be worth the money. Counting endorsements (which will surpass anything Fitzgerald could manage), Bolt will end up doing much better than any wide receiver in the NFL. He'll have a longer career, he won't have to get hit, and he will probably walk away from the sport with his knees and skull intact.

I think it's probably just for shits and giggles...much akin to the way we constantly speculate the 5k times of football players, politicians, musicians and etc. They're looking at Bolt from the prism of a football fan. However, that doesn't make it particularly exciting or quality journalism.

am i wrong here? wrote:

It is great that Usain Bolt is garnishing some mainstream hype for track and field with each of his amazing performances, and any attention he gains is better than track remaining in the realm of obscurity. That said, is anybody a little ticked/peeved that the only context ESPN can seem to find for Bolt's freakish speed is to discuss how he would fare as a wide receiver in the NFL? Is track and field some sort of death sentence? Is being, at best, a deep threat wideout in the NFL in ANY way better than enjoying the notoriety and attention he receives as the world's fastest man? Don't say money, because it's not true. I realize it's just daily fodder for NASCAR nation, but it still strikes me as outrageous appropriation.

What a stupid statement. You do realize that Bolt is set to become one of the richest sportsmen in history right? He IS where the money is. Now I'll give you credit that what you are stating is generally true in regards to track. In this situation it is not. Do you have any idea what kind of contract this man is going to get next year. His market value is in the mid 9 figures right now!

There have been a number of top sprinters who've done well in the NFL- besides Gault and Hayes, there were James Jett, Ron Brown, Richmond Flowers, and Michael Bates, just to name four. And even Cris Collinsworth. But they're usually guys who WERE football players...they're hot outstanding sprinters about whom somebody suddenly says "hey, let's make him a football player."

There's no evidence that Bolt can or would like to take a hard tackle, or that he can catch anything with his hands.

QUOTE:

Bottom line, unless some NFL team wants to pay him "Tom Brady money," he takes a financial step backwards going to the NFL. The guy is making a $1 million a month for less than 10 seconds of work. He going to trade this in for a $1 million a season so d-backs can crush him? Please.

ENDQUOTE

I hate it when people say he earned all that money for 10 seconds of work. You ignore all the training he has been doing since he was probably 14 years old.

The poster above talking about the money drawing the best athletes is true across the board. At one time the best athletes in the US played baseball (Jackie Robinson for instance) because they were paid the best. Some exceptions there of course as a 7 footer is not going to do well in many sports, but that is an extreme. Now the best athletes in the US are split between football and basketball. Those who run track do it as something to do to stay in shape (if they run at all).

starmiler wrote:

Usain Bolt will become the first track sprinter in history who does not need to play another sport to maximize his earning potential. The guy's getting $750,000-$1,000,000 appearance fees already. Larry Fitzgerald, the best paid wide receiver in the NFL, made $17,103,480 last season, and he spent years proving himself to be worth the money. Counting endorsements (which will surpass anything Fitzgerald could manage), Bolt will end up doing much better than any wide receiver in the NFL. He'll have a longer career, he won't have to get hit, and he will probably walk away from the sport with his knees and skull intact.

Jerry Rice played until he was 40+; I do not see Bolt doing that.

It would be interesting to see a break down over a career of earnings (prize, appearance and endorsements).

Bolt is an unusual mix of talent, hard work and charisma. If he did not have the last one, he would not be making this kind of money. The guy makes people who are not even interested in track stop and watch. I remember Carl Lewis having a similar effect.