Is Meb not sponsored by Nike anymore?

With the NYC win he probably expected a large contract from Nike but it's clear that he's on the downside of his career. I'm sure Nike knows this as well. The opportunity to get Mo Farrah in there gear is too hard to turn down. If Meb's agent is stubborn about negotiating, I'd probably walk away too. This seems like the same thing that happened with the Boston Marathon. I'm sure he'll be at the NYC Marathon every year but only because they like to bring the former winners back.

He won't be able to wear that at USA track champs or the Olympic Trials, it's not IAAF compliant. That reflects poorly on our sport, not on him.

im looking at you wrote:

He won't be able to wear that at USA track champs or the Olympic Trials, it's not IAAF compliant. That reflects poorly on our sport, not on him.

I think you can wear that uniform at the IAAF World Championships, which I believe is an IAAF sanctioned event.

what are those shoes galen are wearing. they look kinda like victories with the colors and the thin look of them but obviously they are flats. what are they? something nike made just for him?

Galen was wearing the rereleased Lunaracer 1+.

Howdy wrote:

We don't know for sure what went down but from what I've read about this family and their humble ways. This is bad. If it were Galen or Dathan with Meb's credentials they would have a building named after them at Nike base and a lifetime Nike contract. Meb's lifetime story is going to win Oscars one day, you heard it here first.

So humble of Meb and his family to tell us how humble they are, to write book how humble he is, to snub the paychecks from Boston and Nike because they are obviously offering to much to Mr. Humble and family.

riley stops wrote:

The marketing people at Nike are horrible at their job. Nike puts millions of dollars into sponsoring T&F athletes every year, yet they don't do anything to really market their athletes. When was the last time there was a hot selling shoe named after a T&F athlete? The Kennedy was the only one that comes to mind that doesn't have Pre's face on it. It's sad, and says something about our sport, when a dude that's been dead for over 30 years is the most popular athlete.

Prefontaine can never demand a pay raise or run for another shoe company or become German Fernandez.

Of course he wore still some Nike stuff. His closets are full of Nike gear after his longterm contract, so he won't run around nude.

It suprises me that Nike ended their contract with Meb who still has the ability to turn heads as a former NYC champ. With trials less than a year to go, they could take some 'gamble' in extending the contract or has he overplayed his hand (again like Boston)?

Maybe in another blog he will explain this strange situation, like he did after the Boston debacle.

stanhope wrote:

It suprises me that Nike ended their contract with Meb who still has the ability to turn heads as a former NYC champ. With trials less than a year to go, they could take some 'gamble' in extending the contract or has he overplayed his hand (again like Boston)?

Maybe in another blog he will explain this strange situation, like he did after the Boston debacle.

I'd like to hear explained how, if his demands aren't unreasonable, another shoe company like Adidas hasn't snatched him up.

Money Money Money wrote:

Alberto probably had him dropped to make a budget for Mo Farah. What a coincidence that Farah signs and Meb gets dropped. Meb probably refused to join Alberto's group.

alberto salazar is just a coach he does not have any influence on who the nike company sponsors.

great athletes have been getting dropped by shoe companies.

kerron clement and i think bershawn jackson, wallace spearmon, i am sure they all got new sponsors, but with the 400 hurdler ranked #1 the previous year and the rumor was he was dumped as the sponsor did not think he would break the world record.

sorry i know it was a big name 400 hurdler, but i am not sure which one if not both.

That is the word on the street , brother has gone over the top , Meb is on the backside of running , less money for the shoe deals , less money for events , this is the way it works , happens to all the runners. Family members are the worst to deal with as agents , emotions get involved. Agent with history and athletes knows the score and gets the best deal available.

Rather than being smart , getting fair market value , push the bonus level up for placing and times , they choose to get nothing... sad way for a champion to go down.....

salazar isn't just a coach. he is a nike employee and i believe heads up the running marketing division?

xc955 wrote:

salazar isn't just a coach. he is a nike employee and i believe heads up the running marketing division?

wrong.

I agree. Meb would be a great fit at Asics and I am sure his brother approached them. With no sponsorship, it can only mean his asking price is to high.

I am sure negotiations will continue and his price will come down to what the market will bear.

Nothing wrong with a guy trying to get as much as he can at the back-end of a career.

Jon Rankin missed the Olympics even though he had a stellar 2007 and 2008 season with a sub 3:55 personal best. At the next contract negotiation, however, Nike wanted to turn his contract into an incentive laden deal. I'm sure it was in no small part due to the growing number of milers out there.

I wouldn't be surprised if Meb faced the same approach from Nike. Nike is saying that there are other runners who can duplicate Meb's success (I disagree FWIW) and that they don't want to pay a super-high top dollar for a runner that Nike will argue is on the decline.

What role Meb's brother had to play in the negotiations is a mystery. So far no one's talking. Regardless, it's a shame that Meb is going through this.

I don't know what kind of money he is asking for, but I think he is a great representative of the sport. If Asics people read this, they should consider picking him up. Especially now that Asics' best runner has not been matching the caliber of performances he had 5 years ago.

Good for Meb, for going rogue and looking outside the box. Runners shouldn't limit their primary sponsor to being a "shoe sponsor", esp. if they can net a better deal from a non-shoe sponsor. We also shouldn't 'look down on them' for not having their primary sponsor be a shoe sponsor. They should be like triathletes, sporting multiple sponsors and one primary sponsor (shoe company or other). IAAF and USATF need to cut their silly uniform rules and model themselves after NASCAR and other sports to generate more money for both the individuals and the organizations.

The idea that Nike had to decide between Meb and Mo for financial reasons is just ludicrous. All Nike sponsored athletes, male and female, any nationality, on the starting line in NY on Sunday cost Nike less than one big-name NBA shoe deal. That's not to say that the decision to drop an athlete isn't made based on financial grounds (almost every decision in a publicly-traded company is), but it isn't a question of "this athlete or that athlete".

Nothing wrong with it agreed.

Shoe companies look at making an athlete investment in younger athletes that will bring ongoing visibility over a number of years , brand and athlete become one.

Going to a new brand , it will take a year to clean up market images of Meb as a Nike athlete. It will take a year or longer to get the new brand recognized with the athlete.

Does Meb have that many more high level "winning" races in him ?

New shoe company will not get his best years , he will not get his best pay.

Outside of his running ability, he has a great life story. He is also extremely friendly and personable. I met the guy once and he spent a lot of time talking to me, way more than he had to. Other people I know who have met him have said the same thing: he is one of the nicest guys in the world. He is a great representative for a company. If nike doesn't sign him, some other company should.