Could Cooper Lutkenhaus have the highest starting salary contract ever? How much do we think he makes?

Just curious

Guessing $250K per year plus bonuses and college paid.

Assuming his agent shopped around diligently, $1 million per year. Contract thru 2032.

Even now at this years world meet, he will be a huge story. Tracking his path in 2028 to LA will also get followed. He will still be a senior in hs.

Value to a sponsor is the attention you draw, not necessarily your race results. A high school kid making world team is both result and tons of chatter.

He graduates hs in 2027 so we won’t be in hs at the time of the Olympics unless he fails two grades

Drew Hunter signed for double this almost ten years ago with fewer major accomplishments. Although, he did have a large social media presence.

Maybe, But Quincy Wilson Will Be Much higher as They are almost The Same Age, But Quincy Wilson Has A GOLD MEDAL so by that Alone Wilson's Contract will be Higher, Alliyah Butler And Kaylyn Brown's NIL Contract's are Probably Higher Than What Cooper Lutkenhaus Signed For Just Based on Them Being GOLD MEDALIST, An Olympic Gold Medalist Trumps being a High Shool Phenomenon, even as Extraordinary A High Schooler As Lutkenhaus (Maybe the best High School Performance EVER in ANY EVENT)

Winning An Olympic Gold Medal Puts Quincy Wilson in The Same Category As John, Smith, Dan Gable, Jordan borroughs, Bruce Baumardner Are To Wrestling What Muhammad Ali, Ray Leonard, George Foreman, Joe Frazier are to Boxing, What Sergi Bubka and Mando Duplantis are to the Pole Pault What Usain Bolt And Jesse Owens are To Sprinting etc. The Absolute Cream Of The Crop, Immediately in the Conversation of best who ever Lived, Cooper L Could very well be on the path to being in that category, But He has NOT DONE IT YET.

Quincy interesting and 400m brings more fan attention than 800...but he is inconsistent, short and has terrible form.

Cooper a more reliable bet by sponsor.

I'm pleased to see there is a thread on this - actually two which I have merged into 1 - as I was thinking of starting one myself - How much do we think Cooper is making?

I think it's a ton.

Here are some figures that i have heard others made when they turned pro.

Valby 850k
Wheating 700+
Lyles 750k
Kessler 450k(I also heard 10 years 6 million so who knows is that was right, maybe it was 10 and 4).
Hunter 450k
Sumner 350+
Markevich 350+
Webb/Centro 250k (I heard this from a less reliable source a coach)
Suliman 100+

I thought I heard that some of these sprint contracts are the highest. One of these rando HS sprinters that we barely pay attention to on LRC may have gotten a million.

If he signed for anything less than 500k a year, he got a bad deal. I haven't heard anything but will ask around.

PS. Anyone interested in this thread will undoubtedly be interested in thei 2018 piece we did where we polled agents on how much people make: Pro Runners' Salaries: How Much Do Professional Runners Make? We Unveil One of The Sport's Biggest Secrets - LetsRun.com

It seems like stuff is higher now due to more teams and inflation.

Markezich 350+? she had only 1 ncaa title, no global teams, not many instagram followers, and let’s be honest (I have great respect for women but it’s true), she’s not that hot at all. Valby is. She isn’t.

Poor Ben (the hobo) Blankenship. Yeah, he got some money, but Nike swindled him by throwing in a rubber poncho, a weekly delivery of (canned) baked beans, and a harmonica.

Relay pool gold medals don’t do much. You clearly don’t know any pro athletes.

Quincy’s contract would 100% be lower than Cooper’s if he signed today.

Quincy this time last year is a different argument.

Webb made a ton his first deal

Cooper signed at the perfect time.

Um, 800m isn't distance.

Until someone files a suit these salaries will always be low. It’s incredible that every shoe company has an NDA for every athlete. Only in track and field. A good antitrust lawyer could almost certainly say there has to be some kind of collusion here.

It's amazing how often you post here but you still know very little about track.

Quincy Wilson didn't run an individual event in the Olympics, he only ran in a relay. And he didn't even run in the final, he ran in the heats. And the relay leg he ran was pretty bad.

Quincy Wilson is not in any way, shape, or form in the same league as "Muhammad Ali, Sergey Bubka, Mondo Duplantis, Usian Bolt, and Jesse Owens" as you incorrectly claim. Are you on crack?

He could be the first human being to break 1:40. He is a Jim Ryun-level once-every-half century talent. I think he's making several million per year at least. To Nike, this would be a drop in the bucket.

idk, most people don't know anything. a brand can say "gold medalist" about quincy wilson and coverage of LA will say "he won a gold medal on the relay in paris"

Shouldn't that be what helps a brand think they can make money?

Wheating at 700k+ has to be the biggest contract letdown in USA running history. It's like Pujols and the Angels.

No way is Cooper getting less than 7 figures per year. If he is, he should fire his parents.

Given his "Top Gun" looks and the upcoming LA Olympics, I can see why you'd pay him a ton. But I'm not sure it's a slam dunk you'd pay him gold medal money without winning gold.

Drew Hunter got a huge contract (via a close friend of family, so would break confidence with amount).

Hunter, although very good was not world-class, so they were paying for potential.

Lutkenhaus only has to get consistent at the level he's just reached and he's at least a factor in any race on the world stage.