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Usain Bolt: Eyes on the Prize Beyond the Finish Line

Written by Stephanie Migot

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

At the athletics World Championships in Berlin this summer, prize money was set at $60,000 for every gold medallist, plus a $100,000 bonus for any world records that were broken. As a result of his efforts in the men's 100m final, Usain Bolt earned $160,000 for 9.58 seconds' work. While to us lesser mortals such an amount is impressive, it is dwarfed by what the fastest man on the planet can hope to earn from his sponsorship and endorsement contracts.

Usain Bolt. Photo: flickr/rich115

Today, the athletes and sportsmen at the top of their game who become household names reap their riches by suckling from the corporate teat. Regardless of the amount of money they are paid to play a ball or run down a track, the prize money that they earn from their profession can never hope to compare with the deep pockets from advertising consultants. On Usain Bolt's website, the logos for Digicel, Puma and Gatorade are ever-present at the bottom right-hand of the screen. As his global profile grows, there will be ever more potential sponsors hoping to ride the Bolt coattails in order to gain more publicity, greater prestige and higher sales. One can only hope that his management team, who do seem to have a strategy in place, are able to steer him on the right path.

Despite his superhuman performances on the track and the mixed reactions to his showboating after every triumph, Usain Bolt is not one of the highest-earning sportsmen in the world. He is not even within the top ten. While it could be argued that he has some time to build up his profile -- he is, after all, only 22 years old -- already, with an eye on future earnings, Bolt's team has been assuring potential sponsors that he will be toning down his partying outside of competition and presenting a more professional facade.

While corporate endorsements can significantly bulk up an athlete's earnings, according to the the Faustian pact into which they enter with their benefactors, they will conduct themselves in a manner conducive to the brand image of their sponsors. And from that they will not stray, lest the dollars go away. What would Puma do if Bolt were to be discovered wearing Nike spikes during training? Would Gatorade continue to give him money if he professed his love for Lucozade? It is not enough for spokespeople to endorse a brand; they must live the brand. Doing otherwise could lead to a loss of income from which they might never recover. In some instances, even publicity unconnected to contracts can have an effect.

When Michael Vick, quarterback for the NFL Atlanta Falcons, was convicted of running an illegal dog-fighting ring, animal lovers from dog pounds to strict vegans joined forces to condemn him. Immediately, endorsement contracts worth $7 million per year were put at risk. Further, not only was he convicted and sentenced to jail time, but he was also poisoned in the public mind, forever tainted with the stain of animal cruelty. Vick eventually had to seek bankruptcy protection. Having served 18 months of his 23-month sentence, Vick is now playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, but he will never again earn the kind of money he was pulling in while the golden boy for the Falcons.

Usain Bolt is a young, handsome, world-conquering man who can take his pick of the ladies in clubs or resorts. Were he to pair up with a fellow female athlete, there might be accusations of an aggressive Jamaican breeding program to guarantee the next generation of sprinters would be from the West Indies. As it is, the world is still utterly enthralled by his solo efforts, and couldn't care less who he consorts with away from competition. Currently, he is blameless. For athletics fans, we can only hope he remains so for the rest of his career.