How does David Ribich have a contract but Eric Holt doesn't?

The truth is Holt is done after this year. Looks terrible when he runs and has no appeal at all. Sorry but it’s a waste of time to give him money and pay him

You make the mistake of assuming that anyone else cares whether either of these runners has "a contract."

Ribich has a brand outside of being an also-ran competitor. He has a podcast, he works with Citius, and on top of that i doubt he is making very much money.

Holt has no brand outside of being famous for not having a contract. He's just an also-ran competitor. Something tells me he's been offered a Ribich level contract before and turned it down because it would have required him to move or change coaches.

I always got the notion that Kerr was either mildly annoyed or irritated with Ribich on the podcast. And I’m not really in the loop, what’s the drama between Ribich and TAS?

If yall feel this way so stronger then start a go fund me.

if ppl really care they will donate and help him. Sponsor him that way im sure he will appreciate it. Theirs always power in the people

Him getting a contract with Nike after leaving Brooks is on par with Quigley getting a contract with Lululemon. Maybe even harder to explain

This is the truth.

Why doesn’t he take a minimum NYAC contract. I’m sure they will dump something into him

I think someone had mentioned on that long TAS thread that Ribich was pretty vocal that he didn't think Spencer belonged on the Beasts and his trial was BS. I'm sure a few others felt this way but it always struck me as a weird thing from David, given that one of his whole narratives was that he was someone who wasn't a stud in high school but he rose up through D2 and then went pro. I probably made my initial post too mean towards David, which wasn't really my intent but I just don't get how companies decide who they give a deal to. Holt has made it sound like he's been told plainly he's not up to the pro level by shoe companies but clearly they'll give some kind of deals to lesser athletes. I guess for me it boils down to the fact that I'm a fan of Holt and not such a big fan of Ribich so seeing them have opposite sponsorship situations is frustrating from the outside. But hey, life ain't fair.

Never understood why Ribitch was given a contract to begin with and how he still has one.

There has to be much more to the whole Holt no contract thing than we are hearing. There is just something off about Holt

Anyone else notice that once ribitch left brooks Kerr's career got MUCH better.

Doubt there is anything 'off' about Holt beyond him being a hardworking guy approaching 30 who wears his heart on his sleeve. Sponsors are just really really uninterested in people who have breakthroughs in their late 20s on the track. Look how long it took Sara Vaughn to get a contract, even though she made a world team. She had to move to the marathon to finally get one. It's rather silly of brands to throw millions at teenagers who might never pan out while giving zilch to the approaching 30 guy/gal who could imminently make a team, but it's how it is.

The logical conclusion is that holt has been offered but won't accept what he's been offered.

If he accepted a contract, there are several possibilities.

A. Eric has to move to the sponsors training group

B. He has to run in shoes he doesn't prefer

C. He loses his following for being "the unsponsored guy"

D. All of the above

I'm guessing all of these outcomes are things he would like to avoid, so he'd hold out until he gets an unrealistically perfect offer. Maybe he hasn't been offered, but it seems unlikely at this point.

maybe but he's talking about buying all his own gear, living with his 70 yr old dad, and having his girlfriend buying all their meals out... at some point I'd be over it and take any deal I could find instead of waiting for the perfect one

Yea take what ever deal you can get then try to upgrade from there. Having a little bit is better than nobody. At least he would get gear and wouldn't have to buy his own shoes

Holt doesn’t even have any nutrition sponsors or a gear sponsor like Coros. He’s not that active on social media…yeah he’s an ok interview on citius but otherwise he’s pretty invisible. Someone like Parker Stinson has been washed for years but still has sponsors because he posts on IG almost every day. Holt is interesting to running nerds and running nerds only. Unfortunate, but it’s how the sport works.

It’s an Oregon thing. Ribich is from small town Oregon and Pete Julian is from small town Oregon. I’m sure it’s not a lucrative deal but it might not have happened for another athlete.

Does Holt have an agent? He needs a mullet

You seem to be under the impression that deals are given out solely based on race times. That isn’t how the world works. Companies are making a marketing decision when they sponsor an athlete.

Everyone should go click on the agent profile that is tagged in his bio, he’s rocking with an agent who is probably just a buddy who said he’d help him out. At least that’s what it looks like. He needs one of the big 3, Flynn, Total or Global to take him on. Not some full circle buddy fun time agent

People on this thread are clueless. Holt has 100% not received a legitimate contract offer. People seem to think every brand has reached out with a minimum contract, and that he's rejecting them left and right. 30 year old's don't get offers. Just how it is. Ben True was dropped by Saucony and unsponsored for a while when he was still on the Diamond League.