COOPER GOES PRO

Smart kid. Strike while the iron is hot. Way too good for high school and college competition. Hopefully it was a big number.

I don’t doubt that it’s true, but I’ve struggled to find any other sources for this besides them.

On one hand, it makes sense–he’s more than good enough, and Texas doesn’t allow NIL stuff with highschoolers.

On the other hand, he and his coach have talked repeatedly about how he wants to stay a highschooler, and do all the high school competition things.

Puzzling. But I imagine things change when Nike throws a bag of money at your kitchen table.

Let's hope this isnt Drew Hunter 2.0 that becomes addicted to wine in his $1.6M Boulder 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house and then watches his same aged peers surpass him one after another, eventually placing a string of fourths in international qualifiers.

Be a kid for as long as you can, run with other kids. At least three NCAA years enjoying the college experience.

Entering the work world at 22 is how you do it.

Confirmed. So happy for him!

forbes.com

Cooper Lutkenhaus, Rising 16-Year-Old Track Star, Turns Professional With Nike

Cory Mull

The Texas teenager opted to end his high school career and go pro with Nike.

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https://x.com/trackallaccess/status/1959975954501005521?s=46

Let it forever be known that track all access had the scoop on this first.

This isn't puzzling at all. The kid just beat the world indoor champion (Hoey), a 4th place Olympic finisher and American record holder (Hoppel), and finshed right behind a former world champion and American record holder (Brazier) at nationals. His 1:42 pr surpasses the current NCAA record. He is the fastest runner under 18 of all-time. He has absolutely nothing to gain from beating up on high school competition for two more years. It would be a stunning waste of talent. He's only going to get better running with the big boys. He literally has nowhere else to go.

Obviously the good decision financially, I am a bit worried though. Nike is not really the most scrupulous of brands… though they say he is allowed to stay with his HS coach, I remember the same thing being announced for Melissa Jefferson, then after one season where she only made the relay (her first pro season no less) they forced her to move over to Dennis Mitchell of all people. I just don’t want his career to be put in the hands of people without his best interests at heart. If he has a good team hopefully this won’t be an issue.

He’s far too good to run in HS meets. He improved a HS 800m record that had stood for almost 20 years, by over 4 seconds. The equivalent times for the mile and 5000m are 3:45 and 12:46. Would such a distance runner compete in HS?

His family is probably middle income so the contract will result in a significant improvement in lifestyle, which would include buying a new house, a fancy car, etc. They won the lottery and should cash in.

Not to be too cynical, but many of those around him won't have his best interests at heart. Nike doesn't, his agent doesn't. Coach and parents are the only ones who would meet that burden, and thankfully they all seem to have their heads screwed on straight -- as does Cooper. Unfortunately that hasn't always been the case with these high school phenoms.

And you are going to take your revenge from what?
We ... we are badly positioned.

I wonder what he’s being paid. I remember Hobbes Kessler was on 500k for 6 or 7 years. Adidas typically pays more, but Cooper is also better than Hobbes.

I'm never comfortable with this because I've seen it go bad too many times. But what's the point of this kid spending most of the next two years racing kids who are mostly trying to break 2:00, for free. Good luck.

The number determines if it is smart or dumb.. if you are offered 10m over 10 year guaranteed, you go pro. 50k/year for 10 years with reductions? Probably not worth it. In between you have tough choices.

Developmentally it can be harder to say. The US infrastructure for kids like this is sort of lacking.

What makes you think his agent doesn’t have Cooper’s best interests at heart? Do you believe he left something on the table when negotiating the contract, or wrongly influenced him to go pro? What did Nike do wrong?

It’s with Nike…why not go the ncaa route, get a big NIL deal with Nike, d!ck around for a couple years (he could only race a couple times per year), and then go pro? Running 1:42 means he could go anywhere for free - 2 Nike schools in particular

Citius just published a Q&A with Cooper about his decision to turn pro. Here's a fun question at the end:

CITIUS MAG: Have you figured out how much time you're getting off from school yet?
CL: I believe it's two weeks. They should make that longer! (Laughs) But it'll be two weeks roughly. I've already had to kind of talk to my teachers and my principal. It was like, ‘Hey, I'm gonna be gone for a little bit. You think you could excuse me?’ So it seems like they understand.

Imagine being an 11th grade high school teacher and a kid asks you to miss class because he qualified for the world championships in Tokyo. "Fine, but I'm going to need to see a note!"

citiusmag.com

Record-Breaking 16-Year-Old Cooper Lutkenhaus Goes Pro, Signs With Nike Ahead of World Championships - CITIUS Mag

At just 16, Cooper Lutkenhaus has made history by turning pro and signing with Nike. The U.S. high school 800m record holder and U18 world record breaker is set to race at the World Championships in Tokyo.

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$50K? His contract should match those of the top U.S. pros and he’s 4th on the all-time 800m list. It wouldn’t surprise me if he just signed the biggest contract ever, for an American middle distance, or distance runner.

TrackAllAccess broke an embargo that all other media entities were under. It wasn't supposed to be announced until later this week. They all knew it was coming. Nike likely not pleased with gordon.