New Washington Post article about Webb

hey getreal..getreal yourself..you have any insight into this??then shut up..I know someone involved with Adidias and Nike,..and the bottom line is that a lot of money BECAME available when Mo Greene did not re-up with Nike..notice how this big money offer DID NOT come up even when Webb was hotter coming out of HS..there was not enough Available..so do your homework..I do know someone in the know who knew what agent, rough terms etc. way before this was out..

'It's all about selling shoes. Webb gets more press in the U.S. than Greene.'

You should be put on board probation for this statement.

Is there an internet form of 'timeout'?

Guys, no, I do not believe everything I read, and yes, some things get blown out of proportion, but.....read the article. The Washington Times is a fairly reliable source. They are saying $250,000.00 per year. Even though you may not want to believe it, that does not necessarily make it false(or it could at least be close to $250 G?s). I know, you?d rather be Alan Webb than yourself (and who could blame you?), but your are not, so continue hammering away at him/and not believing that he is getting seriously paid if it makes you feel better.

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20020718-16634094.htm

Yes Green gets more coverage. However, how many people are still sprinting into their twilight years? How many run distance?

How many young, aspiring distance runners are looking at webb as a complete idol...plus a guy young enough that they have SEEN what he has done.

Greene is older and not as easy to relate to either the youth movement of running or the vast majority of joggers and distance runners that populate the post-collegiate/middle age running groups.

Therefore Webb is SIGNIFICANTLY more marketable.

web more marketable than greene, I dunno. Webb does have alot of stuff on his side, age, race that record but I think that u're using bubble logic. Nike wouldnt have made the Majority of it's mo greene money from seeling mo greene spikes, It would be from watching him constantly toy with the world record on tv with that big ass swoosh or nike written on his chest. That establishes(d) nike as the brand of champions if u get what i'm saying.

webb was going to run sub 4:00 without scott radzko (sp) anyway. the kid is fried, it is all over and leaving UM was a big mistake. i guess the guy that coaches there and coaches kevin sullivan hasn't got the talent that the south lakes high school coach has, are you kidding me. i listened to webb's high school coach give a speech at a clinic in ac, nj. he spoke about a 40 minute warm-up routine and hadling the media. what that did to help anyone learn anything about coaching webb is beyond me. the workouts were pretty much your average hs stuff, lots of 400s and some distance. no mention of LT training, long runs, VO2max work, etc .... his hs coach is average. in fact, i know a hs coach that sucks, i mean she is horrible, and webb would have run sub 4:00 for her because she runs 300m-600m repeats 4 days a week at race pace or faster. anyone can do that crap. it isn't how you train a kid for the long-term and it isn't going to help get webb ready for the "pros". if you are going to leave college and turn pro, you should be ready to run against ElG the day you make the move. Hicham wouldn't let webb wash his jock and even if he would, webb couldn't carry it to the washing machine!

another thought,

shouldn't razko be investigated for acting as an agent based on alleged conversations with alan concerning turning pro early. i don't think anyone would get away with calling a michigan football player and doing the same. maybe razko isn't the agent, but i'm sure he was talkin to flynn as well. this whole thing is going to blow up in alan's face. the guy are michigan has been coaching since razko was in diapers. when webb fades away what will razko say then? the UM coach said it best, teose guys in europe could care less about some 19 year old that ran 3:53. 3 or more hs aged kids from kenya run sub 4 every year.

final thought,

didn't the setbacks start when webb failed to win the outdoor national championship last year? who was his coach then? oh yeah razko

How marketable will Webb be on television when they notice the huge balding taking place? he wont be too attractive to the girls, will he?

king99 wrote:

hey getreal..getreal yourself..you have any insight into this??then shut up..I know someone involved with Adidias and Nike,..and the bottom line is that a lot of money BECAME available when Mo Greene did not re-up with Nike..notice how this big money offer DID NOT come up even when Webb was hotter coming out of HS..there was not enough Available..so do your homework..I do know someone in the know who knew what agent, rough terms etc. way before this was out..

Obviously you do not know what you are talking about. Everyone inside of the shoe industry agrees Webb would have gotten a lot more money if he turned pro last year.

The $250,000 figure in the Washington Times was inaccurate. Shoe contracts are not a straight guarantee like that.

And as for your logic that a bunch of money became available when Mo Greene switched from Nike to Adidas sure it did, but only from Nike. Last year Adidas would have had the extra money if that's how you want to view it to sign Webb. So only if Webb signs with Nike does your argument hold water.

Hey guys, get a clue. You may not like Razcko, but he'd coached TWO of the fastest HS'rs EVER over 800 meters. He obviously has a very good method to his madness...

those two trained together and that had more to do with their PRs than their coach. same thing happened with Ryun when he set the national record, another kid that trained with him improved and started runing faster times. both of these kids had talent and anyone could have coached them to fast times.

getreal..once again you are dead wrong..I said..read and repeat..that notice how the offer to Webb did not come up last year..there was not enough Nike at least money available..and he will sign with Nike..so my point is totally valid..the reason the others are jumping in is "the keep up with Jones'" syndrom..you don't get it and you do not know jack shit..

NIKE seems to have a pretty good idea what they are doing with this marketing gig. Men's middle and long distance professional running in the US isn't associated with Nike like sprinting or Tiger Woods, McCEnroe, Barkley, Michael Jordan, etc. If Nike can get that market it would be money in the bank. A few Farm Teamers & ex Stanford types/Salazar marathoners show a committment to this market. A contoversial runner like Webb has Nike's name all over him. TV and print ads to follow.

I agree that going Pro is not a bad move, but going home is a step way way backwards........

king99 wrote:

getreal..once again you are dead wrong..I said..read and repeat..that notice how the offer to Webb did not come up last year..there was not enough Nike at least money available..and he will sign with Nike..so my point is totally valid..the reason the others are jumping in is "the keep up with Jones'" syndrom..you don't get it and you do not know jack shit..

King99- I have to agree with getreal on this one. Everyone I have talked to in the shoe industry says Webb would have gotten more money last year. Maybe Ray Flynn will get him a comparable deal this year, but last year it would have been much easier. Just because something was in the Washington Times doesn't mean it is true. Webb is not getting $250,000 guaranteed from what I understand. The unofficial word from sources is that the market for Alan is quite soft. I would say the people I have talked to are at least as reliable as Steve Neurmann of the Wahington Times who just writes a weekly column on running.

And for all of you who say Webb is more marketable than Mo Greene because so many more people jog than sprint, perhaps you don't understand marketing. Not many people race Nascar cars or ride bikes for that matter, but Lance Armstrong and the Nascar guys make a ton off marketing. And oh yeah, not a lot of guys go out there and play competitive football as well, but Football stars can make a lot off endorsement deals. It is about getting your name and picture out there. Maurice Greene does that by winning races. Alan Webb can do it for maybe a year or so more just being alan webb, but even then it's not as much publicity as maurice greene. After a year or so, he'll have to start producing.

To expand on Wejo's comments- In my experience if you read something in the Wash Times about running there exists a very high probability that the story is an editorial (personal opinion, inaccurate info, and little substance)and not journalism, espically with a certain writer. Also,

Nike can structure a deal that he will have to produce in order to make good money. Its a win-win for Nike if he finishes first or last. He will get the same amount of coverage. Nike is great with bonuses. I have seen what John Kagwe made from Nike after winning New York. There were time,place, and equipment bonuses. Holman was with them in good and bad times. Maybe "the doc" can elaborate on their bonus structure.

wejo..I did not say Webb would not have gotten more money last year..THAT IS NOT WHAT I HAVE BEEN SAYING..what I said was that Nike for one did not have that kind of money for another athlete LAST year//the others may have..but Nike fro what I understand was "bucked up" and need to keep any surplus to try to match the MO Greene offers he was getting..now that Greene is gone from the Nike camp that money is freed up for others..this is an economic fact not an opinion..

There is no doubt Webb was more marketable last year..i have never disagreed with that..I also have a source that pretty much confirms the Webb numbers ..give or take a little..

I agree with yours and getreals premise that he wuld have had moe last year ..JUST not from NIke..it's not what I 'm disagreeing with..get real says I don't know what i'm talking about..and i disagree with that

I don't know who your sources are, but mine have said the market for Webb is soft. One source after the $250,000 8 year guarantee figure in the Washington Times said something to the effect that any shoe rep offering that much guaranteed money for such a long time would get fired.

So I still think mid $150,000s give or take some through 2004 or 2005, and the rest all bonusses. This is still an unbelievable contract.