From Twitter:
"@AtoBoldon I do agree with you about how surprised people would be with how much we make and maybe that person will rethink that basketball and football are the only sports to make a living. I think some of our best track athletes are bench riding in other sports"
So, David, educate us.
Also, is it just him as he is pushing for the WR or would people like Tyler Mulder, et al make a healthy amount as well?
Only people making six figures are the top guys in each event- people with the potential to make the final at an international championship.
I would expect that Oliver is surely among the top five American moneymakers in the sport, probably top three.
he makes hundreds of thousands at most, while basketball and football players sign for millions
He only makes more than the others because he threatens to use his hurdle skills to kick their heads off and then finish them off with his biceps.
Well, Oliver's important enough that when he decided to hurdles in Europe the weekend of the Millrose Games in NYC, they didn't even bother to have a men's hurdles race at Millrose for the first time in decades.
I knew a guy that was a pro hurdler. He had a middle class income, nothing crazy. He was a multiple NCAA champ and ranked in the top ten in the world. He retired because it was too much work and wasn't worth I anymore.
As you've been hearing with NFL and NBA lockouts, there are "attractions" and then there are "role players". "Attractions" dictate revenue.
Shaquille O'Neal was an attraction.
Kobe Bryant is an attraction.
LeBron James is an attraction.
David Oliver, in the sport of T&F, is an attraction... the top ones in T&F (Men) -
- Usain Bolt
- Liu Xiang
- David Rudisha
- Tyson Gay
- Andreas Thorkildsen
- Dayron Robles
- David Oliver
Rec Runner x wrote:
he makes hundreds of thousands at most, while basketball and football players sign for millions
You might want to rethink that. MJohnson was making upwards of $10mil/yr at the peak of his career.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Shoe contracts typically range from merchandise/travel fees all the way to millions.
I've known a few people who had shoe contracts and they were in the 60k range for Nike. This was without winnings.
People complaining about that need to think about this - ALL that person did was train and race a few meets each year. That is an incredible life.
This wasn't even a draw athlete. Sure, you would recognize the name, but people don't buy tickets for said athlete.
I had a friend who signed with an off shoe company, and is a middle-of-the pack pro who makes 40k a year before appearance fees and winnings. Not bad at all for doing what you love.
Alan Webb had a $250k per yr contract (5 yrs) with NIKE. Plus, don't forget appearance fees(own races, other races, speeches), other sponsorships(power bar,gatorade, wheaties, etc), commercials, and winnings. This can add up during the year.
Alan was also a very unique marketing opportunity for Nike. Don't think Verzbicas is going to sign for something like that.
The reality is, the top two or three 100m guys make a lot, into the millions after endorsements. The very best at the other events make hundreds of thousands. The rest are middle class, but as mentioned, it's a great life for 5 to 10 years.
Christophe Lemaitre is about to become the richest athlete in the history of T&F.
He's not practicing consistency for nothing, his designs are on running the circuit for the next 10 years, and as a white guy he will rake it in in Europe.
Wariner has also made a sick amount, even though he hasn't won since 07 and is a stick figure and this is his 7th year pro.
Compares well to Liu Xiang.
The best you can hope for is to be a white or asian sprinter that wins the Olympics or is very good in an otherwise carbon copy (black) field of athletes.
The biggest part of the pay is endorsements.
My advice to you guys, start sprinting, or hope you're Alan freakin' Webb minus the nut.
Some people, for some very odd reason, just don't want to admit that track athletes make decent money.
And, when you consider that MOST track athletes are more intelligent than the average NBA guy they can put away money for their future and not go bankrupt like 60% of the NBA.
The average track athlete may not make multi millions but really, if you're smart you don't need multi millions to be comfortable.
Most of what you speak is nonsense.
I know of two American distance runners who a few years back were being given $200K and $250K base from Nike. At the time one was one of the favorites at the national level/contender at the international level, and the other was a contender at the national level. Not hard to figure out the pair I'm talking about.
When you factor in that most shoe contracts are incentive-laden, and then add appearance fees and prize money, these athletes were making probably $350K and $500K at the time (these numbers are more of a guess on my part).
That said, I think most of it was an investment in their potential by Nike.
I was actually shocked watching a European broadcast the other day to see how much attention Lemaitre got for getting 3rd in the race. Most of the announcing during the 10 second sprint was about him. He wasn't in the lead it all. His marketability is way higher than it deserves to be compared to some of those other guys performing at his same level.