I’d like to see what he could do under Alex Gibby at Harvard, he’d have a great training partner in Graham Blanks.
I’d like to see what he could do under Alex Gibby at Harvard, he’d have a great training partner in Graham Blanks.
That is an even more ridicluous notion, lol.
I will tell you only what I can tell you.
1. A deal would never be that short
2. A deal would be more than double those annual low numbers absurdly quoted.
Do you really think the All Time 1500M HS record holder would be sign able for less than Drew Hunter? Really?
Some of you folks have zero clue of how this works.
rojo wrote:
barely old enough to drive wrote:
Weird this obsession LRC has with going pro. Most pro contracts are worth peanuts. This isn’t the NBA. I made more in my first job than all but a very few US runners do in a year. I wouldn’t have skipped college for that if it was an option. It is not like 4 years of college is going to greatly change his financial future one way or another.
I see someone like Drew and I just feel sorry for them.
You feel sorry for someone who made $4 million dollars by the time h e was 28?
If I was Kessler or if I was advising him, I"d tell him, go to college and go pro. Why can't he go to NAU or Michigan, hang with the guys and gals on the team, practice with them,e tc and just race separately? I think the college experience is amazing.
The pro stuff is tough if you are solo.
Yeah, I said it. Sad. Someone that’s biggest accomplishment so far in life has been getting a shoe company to pay him for ncaa level results. Yeah, and they are stuck with him for another 5 years. He just seems directionless and sad looking from the outside in.
It is like someone that got drafted in to the nfl and gets paid, but never plays a game. I find that sad too. Not exactly a fulfilling existence.
At the moment Kessler isn’t going to make the Olympic team. The only reason to go pro at this time is for the money. If money wasn’t in play at all, what is the best route for him? Is it still to go pro, no.
barely old enough to drive wrote:
If money wasn’t in play at all, what is the best route for him? Is it still to go pro, no.
But.... it is in play. So what really is your point?
If your employer stopped paying you, would going to work be your best option? If McDonald's paid $100 per hour but doctors and lawyers only earned $25 per hour, would college still be the best option?
Bob, why bother.....lol
Some of these people are nit wits.
If you were allowed to be the best lawyer or doctor and were already qualified mentally etc. Would you go to college?
Its an insane argument, by some, get paid as early and as often as possible in this sport. One injury away from being unmarketable.
And I have no idea where people get the numbers on Drew Hunter, my info was $250K for 10, not $400K per, I could be wrong..but...I dont think so on this.
Pretty sure it was 200/yr for 10. Total of 2M.
king999 wrote:
I will tell you only what I can tell you.
1. A deal would never be that short
2. A deal would be more than double those annual low numbers absurdly quoted.
Do you really think the All Time 1500M HS record holder would be sign able for less than Drew Hunter? Really?
Some of you folks have zero clue of how this works.
Speak for yourself. You're a clown to thinks this is all happening in a vacuum. Shoe companies have learned a hard lesson over the past few years in ROI for US runners who aren't running world level marks and winning yet. Drew Hunter and Mary Cain are poster children for playing roulette with marketing budgets like that. Influencers on SM are a far safer play. Runners joining an established group under a single sponsor are also a safe play. CFOs don't get excited about high schoolers running national class times who haven't yet won against people they'd have to beat out to make an Olympic team. Especially if they aren't getting in nationwide media for it.
It's all about paid media. Signing Kessler is a form of guaranteed paid media. He will be the darling of the Trials and get a 30-60"+ vignette during Trials coverage on national television. Want to know why New Balance dished out close to $2M/year for Sydney McLaughlin other than her being a prodigy and #2 all-time and a guaranteed Gold Medalist: because New Balance would never take out a $2M TV ad... however, I guarantee you that Sydney will garner more than 4:00+ on national TV with a 90-120" vignette during the Trials and if she makes the Olympics will get another 120-160" special at the Games.
Most of you think the ROI is tied to footwear sales. You are incorrect. It is TV money/eyeballs... no one wants to pay the $1M for 30" at the Olympics for a commercial spot. So, you sign athletes. The athlete gets showcased on TV.. a percentage of the viewers actually look up the athlete, maybe follows on IG, and BOOM you get more consumers seeing your brand and products.
That, my friends, is money well-spent.
dil wrote:
barely old enough to drive wrote:
If money wasn’t in play at all, what is the best route for him? Is it still to go pro, no.
But.... it is in play. So what really is your point?
My point is his best path to development and potential happiness of being involved with a tight knit team is most likely at odds with getting paid.
Drew would’ve had a much better experience racing others at his level and having success in the ncaa instead of skipping that step. I think he missed out. Mary Cain certainly wasn’t ready to be a pro. It can be a super lonely existence.
I guess I’ve know too many people working jobs they absolutely hate just for the money to put as much value in the almighty dollar as everyone else on here.
That is a good argument for going pro now if you think he will not enjoy being a pro. He can sign a huge contract for 4 years that also pays for his education. Then he can go to work after college and have $1m banked. Going to college instead has him having to run anyway and graduating without the $1m and then going to work at the same job. No downside to going pro.
barely old enough to drive wrote:
My point is his best path to development and potential happiness of being involved with a tight knit team is most likely at odds with getting paid.
Drew would’ve had a much better experience racing others at his level and having success in the ncaa instead of skipping that step. I think he missed out. Mary Cain certainly wasn’t ready to be a pro. It can be a super lonely existence.
I guess I’ve know too many people working jobs they absolutely hate just for the money to put as much value in the almighty dollar as everyone else on here.
Okay, I understand. And everything that I’ve read about Hobbs indicates that he absolutely loves the camaraderie of his Hs team.
But... he’s in rarified air now. Going to college just doesn’t make sense and many people will be telling him this, even if he will feel bummed.
I’m sure it was lonely at times for Andre Agassi or countless other individual sport stars who were essentially sequestered away to become the best in the world.
I think that we, as American track fans, have this feeling that you *have* to run in the ncaa in order to make it. But why? That’s just a thing that we invented, and most of the world’s top athletes don’t go through a four year college program (where they’re peaking 3x per year!). A very easy argument can be made that it’s best for development to not run in the ncaa. Especially with all these insanely fast races in the US these days.
But to your point, he will miss some of the camaraderie of the team. That’s why he should be a pseudo member of the UM team.
TheRealScotty wrote:
Flagpole wrote:
Not the right decision. Wejo has it right. Hobbs is very marketable now. Runners only have so long to make money as a runner. There are always pros and cons to any decision, and being one who loved college life, I understand the lure of that for most people, but he is faced with a real situation...hundreds of thousands of dollars and probably more vs. going to college to get a degree in 4 years that will likely not get him anywhere close to even just $100,000 per year four years from now (and realistically more than than with potential redshirts). Why go to college for 2 years anyway? He'd still have to finish for the degree.
Extraordinary athletes...extraordinary people, shouldn't necessarily follow the same path as those less extraordinary.
We can't look at Kessler and say "we should all be so lucky" when talking about something that is beneath his abilities. Yes, that would be great for the rest of us to go to college for 2 years and have a pro career making potentially millions afterwards, but he's beyond that level now. No need to wait for 2 years later.
I can see this side of the argument as well. My thinking is that the money is almost certainly there in 2 yrs. HK could enjoy 2 yrs of competing in college (with teammates) and complete half of his degree. One could argue that he will not be as marketable in 2 yrs, but I don't believe this will be the case.
Injuries, tripping over his dog, whatever...yes it is fun to go to college and be on a team, but if his goal is to be a professional runner (and I assume it is, but I don't know that for sure), then his goal is here now. 10-14 years to make money as a professional runner if you're lucky. Losing 2 years of that is a decent percentage. Having fun in college doesn't bring you bank.
Saladbar was kind of rude to me but I get it. And I may very well be a clown, but I know first hand of this particular case.
Hunter is not really that big a flop, but some may have slightly overestimated his upside. h
He has run 3:35.90 that's roughly a converted 4 second improvement from HS PR at a mile.
7:39 which is really very good at 23 and change and 20 seconds better in four plus years.
13:17 which until the lastest rash of drops by guys was solid. He has had some missed training time, and even if you looked at his running form and style, he was/is not nearly the prospect Kessler is. I do think most would agree with that, and that doesnt make Hunter a bad runner or person.
Mary Cain , ehh, hard to make that one look right, unfortunately.
So, while Saladbar may say I am a clown, here is a prediction. Kessler will either sign for the highest number by any male HS U.S. distance runner in history or go to NAU. Just a prediction. And Saladbar , in the post you cut and pasted by me, I said "Some" have no idea, didn't mean all or you!!
Actually someone should push hard to try and sign Kessler now,(just for you Saladbar LOL) as he will be all over the TV coverage at Trials, in the pre first round and build up, the comparisons to Ryun and Webb etc.
He may not get out of the Pre Lim, but..he does have the tools.