Are TnF athletes paid exactly what they should be?

You...Have..No...Idea...Do...You...?

FredHamptonsBrother wrote:

Even guys that are 14 flat runners and only get shoe contracts, thats still saving you a bunch of cash.

Ya $500 worth of shoes free for a year really is saving runners a "bunch of cash." They are certainly living the high life, or atleast "comfortably" as you put it. Am I right?

i certainly agree that all athletes in mainstream american sports are overpaid with their multi-million dollar per year contracts. but to say getting free shoes is good enough is ridiculous. training takes a lot of time and effort. if you are training to be the best you can be then that's almost like a full time job. if you then have to work full time or close to it on the side just to make enough money to live then no, that is not enough.

i agree that if you are a top pro runner who can bring in plenty of money from race winnings and appearance fees then 30-50k base salary is plenty. but then you also have to think about the fact that their career is over by the time they are 30-35 usually. then they have to find a new career to begin when all they've been doing is running for the past decade. not exactly great experience to put on your Resume.

but even if you are like a 14 minute 5k guy you can certainly shop around to find good road races to win a few hundred dollars a race and then maybe hit up a marathon to bring in a few thousand and make a decent amount of money. this is where a club system would come in handy in America, if you had a team that could pay for your travel to races. some good runner live in places where there aren't many good races to make money from and flying all over the place to make a few hundred bucks at a time ain't worth it.

i think that usatf screws over tnf athletes. why are the elite athletes having to pay entry fees and membership fees? That would be like asking Green Bay and Pittsburgh players to pay a fee out of their own pockets to play in the superbowl.

link: complaint letter to usatf from olympian (from awhile ago, but still worth the read if you haven't seen it before)

http://theviewfromthefinishline.blogspot.com/2009/02/elite-athletes-perspective-on-status-of.html

how much do top athletes like ritz or shalane make per year? how do think it breaks down between fixed salary, prize money, advertisement deals and whatever else (bonus?)? very curious

Probably somewhere between 150-250k. No idea on the breakdown.

Rizzo wrote:

Probably somewhere between 150-250k. No idea on the breakdown.

Must be the worst job ever. They are publicly criticized about everything they do, yet make less money than a male nurse.

NOT going to do that shit wrote:

Must be the worst job ever. They are publicly criticized about everything they do, yet make less money than a male nurse.

But more than a female nurse?

Hmmmmm

"Are TnF athletes paid exactly what they should be?"

I thought that everyone was paid exactly what they should be and that to argue otherwise was to be labelled a communist or a radical feminist. Aren't those the rules?

T&F athletes give up the prime earning years of their lives to compete. If they make 30-50k for ten years and then try to step into the private sector, chances are they will be starting at the salary level for a 22 year old college grad instead of being someone who is about to make partner, get propoted to upper management or finish their residency and get the big Dr. bucks. They are ten years behind when they stop running and may not even have marketable skills for the private sector (my local running store is filled with 30 something former elite wannabes).

The running shoe manufacturers need to step up and put some serious resources back into T&F. Nike, New Balance, Brooks, etc. make piles off of runners, but put back in a fraction.

Precious Roy wrote:

T&F athletes give up the prime earning years of their lives to compete. If they make 30-50k for ten years and then try to step into the private sector, chances are they will be starting at the salary level for a 22 year old college grad instead of being someone who is about to make partner, get propoted to upper management or finish their residency and get the big Dr. bucks. They are ten years behind when they stop running and may not even have marketable skills for the private sector (my local running store is filled with 30 something former elite wannabes).

The running shoe manufacturers need to step up and put some serious resources back into T&F. Nike, New Balance, Brooks, etc. make piles off of runners, but put back in a fraction.

1. Elite running may not be a goood career choice if what you want is to maximize career earnings potential. Sub-elite running is even worse.

2. What should the shoe companies do that? They are making piles off of runners with the current arrangement.

Athletes are paid exactly what they are worth. They are paid what their individual market will bear.

T&F athletes have chosen to give up their early earnings years if they chose to run instead of get a "real" job. It's a free country. You know the risks and opportunities. And if you don't, that's your problem. I'd argue that "prime" earnings years aren't until your 30s or 40s depending on profession - but indeed, they are delaying the start of their "prime".

If someone takes 5-10 years off to try their hand at professional running, well....why should they start at a higher salary than a 22 year-old fresh out of college?

Nike et al DO put serious resources into selling their product. They provide $ to the individuals that they deem will get them the biggest market return. How about runners boycott the major equipment suppliers to see if there is any impact to sales? (sarcasm)

It's pretty basic economics really.

Well if the runners plan on working with athletes whether it be coaching, therapy, training, or agent work I dont think being a pro athlete would hurt. Secondly, if a pro athlete cant market themselves or find a good way to market themselves via an agent they are probably not trying hard enough. If Ritz said today he was done with running and now he wanted to be a coach there would be a line around the block to have him as a coach, the fact that top athletes rarely make good coaches has nothing to do with that.

Tell me where a 14flat guy can pick up 10k/year on the roads.

The price of a unit of labor in a competitive labor market is equal to the marginal productivity of that labor.

For example, if having Adrian Peterson on your football team will cause an increase in revenue of $20 million, due to his own name as well as increased success of the team as a whole, a team owner will be willing pay up to $20 million to hire him.

Likewise, if Dathan Ritzenhein will increase shoe sales (probably primarily from HS runners) for a company by $500,000 that is what he will earn.

Supply and demand, plus a little charity perhaps.

elites and subelites have a marketable skill others do not after their careers are over: coaching

hahahanot wrote:

Tell me where a 14flat guy can pick up 10k/year on the roads.

Pretty much any big city if they plan their races right. Hell, there was a road mile race this summer that won 300 dollars plus free shoes etc and was won in 4:11 and a track mile race that won 500 for a 4:13 and thats just in my city that I know of. You have plenty of opportunity as a 14 flat guy. 10k a year is around 850 a month in winnings. Not that hard. You gotta race a lot more but most those races will be workouts if you were smart.

I believe so, as the supply of runners seems sufficient to meet demand by potential sponsors.

Were this not the case, more of the "sub-elites" would be getting good sponsorship deals.

They shouldn't get paid jack. What do they contribute to society?