Kyle Merber’s tweet about unsponsored athletes

I like the purdy graphics.

Not connected but showed up under Merber’s tweet and is sort of funny:

Do you think a hammer-thrower can sell shoes?

It says none of the steeple medalists are sponsored. Are Coburn and Jager *really* unsponsored?

Okay, I just read the post properly. I’m an idiot, please ignore me.

Huh? The graphic says all six steeplers on the podium were sponsored.

So he must not be including the 10K if he had one athlete sponsored by ON? I guess that helps his percentages to leave out the fact that there was indeed a 10K race last month.

Yes they can. With the power of marketing all can do anything. Few have vision. Koji sold almost everything in Japan.

I didn't make the graphic - it came from Bell Lap Track and Field Gear. But yes, it doesn't include the 10,000, multi-events, or race walk.

Also, their distinction between what is sponsored vs. non-sponsored is if the brand is registered with USATF. The Tracksmith amateur support program is therefore considered sponsored.

I read it the same way since the post was about the unsponsored athletes.

he can sell hammers.

Get Lowes on the line

Does this include athletes who aren’t sponsored by a shoe or clothing company but still shill for other products on social media?

While not ideal, maybe some athletes have unusual revenue streams.

This is the Bell Lap graphic right? They've really been doing a good job putting this info out but Merber has a big platform so good to raise it up some more.

Merber checks in and gets 10 up votes! One was me, the other 9 must be new here. The Lap Count is always a must read and I'll take a real track fan over a 'journalist' any day.

Seems like there are actually too many sponsored athletes. These brands are wise to hold back and sponsor very selectively. Track & field is such a niche sport that few people follow. And most sponsored track athletes have little-to-no impact on shoes/apparel sales.

At the same meet where 43% of top 3 finishers were unsponsored, there was a whopping ~3,000 fans in the stands each day. Not a good return on investment for the brands, especially if this is supposed to be the marquee event of domestic track & field marketing!

The sponsors don’t get a share of ticket sales so the attendance at a meet is irrelevant to them. Salaries are based on supply and demand, but I have no idea how sponsors determine how much they’re willing to pay for an athlete.

Your first paragraph explains why T&F athletes don’t receive the mega contracts that are common in the major team sports.

Droddy scored a sponsor late last year, so he's off that twitter soapbox for the time being.

These sponsorship salaries are based on getting the logo in front of eyeballs, they come out of the marketing budget. That's why there often are bonus clauses that are satisfied by qualifying for national championships, making the final, and making the podium.

It'd be interesting to then see how much the sponsored athletes make. So nearly half were unsponsored, so a little over half were sponsored. I'd bet about 30-40% of the sponsored athletes are making over $100k from their contract + contract bonus + whatever prize money they can get, and half of those are making over $200k, and a handful making over half a million (sydney potentially a million+ with multiple endorsements in the past year). And the remaining unsponsored athletes are lucky to snag $10k in prize money in an entire year. It's a steeeeeep dropoff. In the 110 hurdles I imagine Allen and Holloway and Roberts who likely have well over 100k+ contracts bumping elbows with other guys like Jamal Britt with nothing.