Hot Take/Rumor: Hobbs Kessler Turning Pro (very soon)

I would be shocked if he doesn’t go pro by July 1st. It’s a matter of signing prior to the Olympic trials. My prediction is after his state meet this weekend he signs a pro contract within 3 days

michiganrunner55 wrote:

I would be shocked if he doesn’t go pro by July 1st. It’s a matter of signing prior to the Olympic trials. My prediction is after his state meet this weekend he signs a pro contract within 3 days

This. I mean Hobbs just broke the HSR and the CR. His market value is bigger than it will ever be in the next couple of years right before the Olympic Trials. If he gets hurt or NAU doesn't work out, he will regret it for the rest of his life. In a way, he's in the same position Donavan Brazier was when he broke Jim Ryun's college 800 record right before the last trials, there is no choice but to go pro at that Point. The big money is there now. College is paid for. He's already training with Nick Willis and beating former NCAA champs in races already. He would be stupid not to take money now while the big offers are on the table. This Olympic window of big contracts after an incredible record might not ever be open again.

TheSummerSoldier wrote:

The big money is there now.

You have zero clue what you're talking about.

The big money is there now. His signing day is June 7. 5 year contract to include college.

If he makes the Olympic team he should go pro. Kind of like Centro did after winning a WC medal while in college. Things change quickly take the money while you are hot. He can always get a degree down the road.

The kid has a renowned coach, an NCAA champion, and a two-time Olympic medallist to advise him. He'll make the right decision, whatever that ends up being. But on times alone, he's already mixing it at a pro level. The fear would be that he goes to NAU and he gets over raced or receives less personalised coaching than he does right now

He doesn't seem very marketable. I would not be comparing him to Centro. He's not in the same dimension as Centro.

T&F is in a dire state right now. You have a lot of World class athletes without shoe deals. I would go to school! Heard he was going to NAU anyway.

think firster wrote:

new era wrote:

NCAA teaches you how to race.

There is no one to race at the NCAA, Kessler is already faster than ALL college students.

He will learn racing with the pros and will make money doing it. The reason of him running 3:34 is because he tried to hang with the pros.

In my opinion, a year in college has cost Athing Mu 6 figures. If she stays with Texas A&M one more year, it is plain stupidity...

Can you really see him beating Yared Nuguse or Cole Hocker?

westsouthrunner wrote:

think firster wrote:

There is no one to race at the NCAA, Kessler is already faster than ALL college students.

He will learn racing with the pros and will make money doing it. The reason of him running 3:34 is because he tried to hang with the pros.

In my opinion, a year in college has cost Athing Mu 6 figures. If she stays with Texas A&M one more year, it is plain stupidity...

Can you really see him beating Yared Nuguse or Cole Hocker?

This is LRC, where the autistic serial posters think if you run a given time then you'll always beat everyone who hasn't run faster.

Mike2030 wrote:

He doesn't seem very marketable. I would not be comparing him to Centro. He's not in the same dimension as Centro.

T&F is in a dire state right now. You have a lot of World class athletes without shoe deals. I would go to school! Heard he was going to NAU anyway.

At a certain speed you don't need to be marketable. If you're putting up performances no one else is putting up then you're going to have a following. If he was one of the many 3:37 guys, ya he needs to set himself apart with the marketing. He is now a 3:34 guy, as a high schooler. He is already set apart. If he continues running fast for his age and is running 3:30 in a couple years at age 20 and runs sub 3:30 in a few years it won't matter. It's not like Jakob Ingebrigtsen is crazy marketable, he's marketable because he's really fast and also young which makes it more special since they'll probably be doing it for quite a while to come.

runderun wrote:

The kid has a renowned coach, an NCAA champion, and a two-time Olympic medallist to advise him. He'll make the right decision, whatever that ends up being. But on times alone, he's already mixing it at a pro level. The fear would be that he goes to NAU and he gets over raced or receives less personalised coaching than he does right now

He would be just as good at NAU. The decision is about money.

So what's the nationwide buzz around his performance in Portland? He's got attention in the outlets local to his home plus one paper in Oregon local to the meet and then this site and Runners World and MileSplit. Where's the headlines on ESPN? Fox Sports? USAToday, NY Times, WaPo, Seattle P-I, SJ Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, etc.? That's a thin sliver of total audience getting news of an accomplishment allegedly worth skipping college and being offered a 6-figure annual salary. Don't believe the hype on LRC.

He makes the team for Tokyo, that's a different story. However, that entails running rounds against multiple runners every bit as fast as him and far more seasoned in racing at that level. Probably not happening, while he's damn good he's no Jim Ryun.

He’s a rare talent, but maybe he’s also just a normal kid that wants to get away from home and have a little fun while he works to improve. I agree he should go to college for at least for a year and see how it goes. A full ride is worth a lot of $ short term and long term. What I don’t understand is why he would choose NAU. He wants to chase around after Nico on long runs? Seems like he should go to Oregon and train with Hocker. That has to be as good as his current training group. There are plenty of big rocks to climb in Oregon.

He will quit running, buy a van and live out the rest of his life as a climbing bum.

Ghost of Jason Rexing's Trainers wrote:

while he's damn good he's no Jim Ryun.

you don't know this

I sure do, simply because I know history. Don't you?

Here, I'll help you if all that reading is too tough for you:

So how many and which gold medalists and WR holders has Kessler beat thus far? Ryun beat one a year earlier, as a junior, than Kessler is currently. Ryun made the Olympic team as a junior because he had already learned how to race at that level. He wound up finishing last in a semi-final race in Tokyo.

Is Kessler currently ranked #4 IN THE WORLD in the mile, 1500m, or any distance? If not, are chances great that he will be by the end of the year? ESPN has yet to report on Kessler's Portland performance, what are the chances he's even the best HS athlete of 2021 let alone of all time?

Bob Kessler wrote:

But his contract will be much larger which is all that matters. Go back to your hut with no contract while he earns $100k per year.

We probably will never know but he will likely make much more than 100K a year

Ghost of Jason Rexing's Trainers wrote:

the alpha special wrote:

you don't know this

I sure do, simply because I know history. Don't you?

kessler just ran 3:34 at age 17. At age 17, what time did Jim Ryun run? That's what I thought. As the kids say: SCOREBOARD