"Valby is thought to be commanding a base annual payment of $650,000 to $800,000 per year. Although agent Tom Ratcliffe negotiated Valby’s NIL deal for her, Valby’s father, Kyle Valby, is said to be negotiating her pro contract. Agents in running typically take a 15 percent fee from an athlete’s sponsorship and prize money, although occasionally athletes negotiate lower fees. Efforts by Runner’s World to reach Kyle Valby were not successful."
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"Nike’s choices for distance runners, Bowerman Track Club and Union Athletic Club, aren’t seen as ideal fits for Valby. Bowerman, under coach Jerry Schumacher, has been a one-size-fits-all program and has seen an exodus of its top talent since the team moved from Portland to Eugene, although Valby’s former college coach, Chris Solinsky, is now a coach with the group."
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"Rosario hopes that when the dust settles and athletes begin to announce their decisions, he’ll have a couple of new names on his roster, even if they’re runners who had NIL deals with companies other than Hoka. “I would certainly encourage anyone who signs a temporary NIL that only lasts through the end of your college years, to use that for what it’s for,” he said. “The money is great and that is wonderful, and then it’s over. And that means that the contract is completely over, and you owe that company nothing. And you move on to make your decision with a clear and open mind.”"
It doesn't shock me at all though. I don't know how much Tuohy got and don't want this to immediately turn into a Tuohy vs Valby thread, but she's soon to have more NCAA championships, her instagram followers have been rapidly growing instead of plateauing, and she could model as well (Tuohy's above average looks-wise but not potential model)
Admittedly this may be too conspiracy thinking, but I’ve wondered whether there is an agenda with some of the pro-group bashing on this board from anonymous handles. BTC self-destructed and were an easy target, but the Boss-hard bashing seemed a bit much, and the Puma group has taken hits recently, although the Hoka and Under Armour groups have been under the radar.
I think it is very interesting Kyle Valby is going to negotiate the waters in this shady sport; maybe Nike felt they could low-ball her (🤷🏼♂️)?
I figured one thing a connected-insider agent could do is be the clout for preferentially getting athletes into meets. But if Valby plans to go to the marathon relatively soon in her career, is getting into meets that important?
(Caveat: Take my potentially erroneous random thoughts on this topic loosely.)
Is Kyle experienced in contract negotiations? I assume he’s an attorney. He better not mess this up for her.
She’s a rare super-talent that is also model gorgeous and very personable. A sponsor’s dream. If he doesn’t get her $5 million guaranteed plus flexibility on her training group, he’s failed. The other deals (nutrition, recovery, watches, etc) should be just as big, if not bigger, than the shoe deal.
Valby is gorgeous and unbelievably talented. She is also injury prone and has not proven that she can train at the same level as the World Class 5k-10k women. She falls into the category of splash signings. Marketing departments have to decide how much publicity she will garner over the next 3 years and pay her accordingly. This might be close to 6 figures but understand that she will not be around for 6 plus years. Touhy and Allie O were the same way at a lesser level.
Valby is gorgeous and unbelievably talented. She is also injury prone and has not proven that she can train at the same level as the World Class 5k-10k women. She falls into the category of splash signings. Marketing departments have to decide how much publicity she will garner over the next 3 years and pay her accordingly. This might be close to 6 figures but understand that she will not be around for 6 plus years. Touhy and Allie O were the same way at a lesser level.
She is not really injury prone any more. I believe she has competed now at every NCAA meet for 2 straight years. Health wise, that's a much better track record than the typical NCAA star, even making her somewhat of an iron woman.
As long as her cross training allows her to be healthy, and she remains among top 3 USA women in her event, she remains interesting for a brand.
We may never find out what she can do with max mileage, because she may choose to never do that. As long as her results are good though, who cares how she gets there.
Also, she's 100% going to sign with New Balance. They don't have any of the top college runners earmarked as of yet. They can pair her with Elle and corner the All-American girl market for running shoes.
We are talking about her Dad who has her best interest at heart. He seems like a wealthy man so the lure of money is not there either. Bare is partnered with Tuohy. He has no personal background with her and has only financial interests.
Valby is gorgeous and unbelievably talented. She is also injury prone and has not proven that she can train at the same level as the World Class 5k-10k women. She falls into the category of splash signings. Marketing departments have to decide how much publicity she will garner over the next 3 years and pay her accordingly. This might be close to 6 figures but understand that she will not be around for 6 plus years. Touhy and Allie O were the same way at a lesser level.
She is not really injury prone any more. I believe she has competed now at every NCAA meet for 2 straight years. Health wise, that's a much better track record than the typical NCAA star, even making her somewhat of an iron woman.
As long as her cross training allows her to be healthy, and she remains among top 3 USA women in her event, she remains interesting for a brand.
We may never find out what she can do with max mileage, because she may choose to never do that. As long as her results are good though, who cares how she gets there.
The twitter photo was a head shot of guy in a suit. How is that extrapolated to him being a professional bodybuilder?!?
No, instead, we have obvious PROJECTION by the same usual suspects. Trying to sell Tuohy’s nickbare gear, thinking she can buy and sell performance out of HIS bottle.
So they try and turn it around and accuse others better than her. It’s disgusting.
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