Substans wrote:
hulksmash wrote:One compelling line of reasoning for how we know USATF money isn't going to the athletes is that one of the athletes (a six time national champ) is saying he won't agree to the branded logo policy, at risk of his position on the team, because doing so would negatively affect his livelihood.
No, that's not a compelling line of reasoning. Nor is it proof that the Nike money isn't going to the athletes. In fact, this is proof of the exact opposite: where did the branded logo apparel come from?
And how would this negatively affect his livelihood? Does he get a bonus from his company for wearing the uniform specifically to worlds? I honestly don't know the specifics of his contract so I'm asking.
If the athlete was made whole via profit sharing or some other manner of reimbursement these problems wouldn't arise. Non-Nike athletes are being asked (required) to represent another company during otherwise normal working hours and to do it for no pay. Yes, money is being exchanged for this exclusivity however it's not going to the athletes who are creating the exposure and providing the value. I honestly can't tell if you're trolling or just unaware of how business works. There is big money changing hands at championship meets that goes beyond apparel and merchandise. Who is sharing in the revenue from media rights, the licensing deals with Visa, Coca Cola (Gatorade) etc, from the gate? The talent from the best team at the event are pulling in per diem, hotel rooms, and a gatorade bottle.
Some in this thread have drawn up the analogy with sponsored basketball players at USAs or Olympics or whatever. The appropriate analogy is with college football or basketball. How can one justify $billion media contracts for Bowl season or March Madness, $billion video game licensing deals, $multi-million apparel contracts, etc., and the talent literally sees none of it? Top coaches make $2M a year but the athletes make $zero and in nearly all cases are specifically restricted from creating personal deals outside team activities. It's a money grab that's how. We all remember the Olympic ideal of amateurism that Shorter/Rodgers/Prefontaine had to confront endlessly, yes? It was never an ideal or an honest standard, it was pretext for a money grab by those with the leverage to do so. Little has changed.