One year after the Atlanta Olympics, NEWSWEEK's Mark
Starr examines the endorsement success of the Games' top
U.S. medal winners. Starr: "[T]he modern Olympics are so
vast and overhyped that inevitably there is never enough
money to go around." Kerri Strug, the hero of the U.S.
Women's Gymnastic team, was one of the most visible in the
post-Atlanta marketplace. Strug's agent, Leigh Steinberg:
"Our goal was not to oversaturate, not for her to be a star
who flamed out. We could have booked her every hour of
every single day." But Olympic decathlon gold medalist Dan
O'Brien is "disappointed" by his endorsement track record
after Atlanta. Starr: "The Olympics gave him only a 'bump
up' to the high six figures without producing any lucrative
new deals." Gold Medal Management's Brad Hunt, the agent
for O'Brien and Michael Johnson, says that "the year before
the Games can be far more important commercially than the
year after, there is far more excitement anticipating the
Olympics ... than recalling them." That is why "virtually
all" of Johnson's current corporate ties were established
during the 12 months before Atlanta (NEWSWEEK, 7/21).
WOMEN'S DAY: At Atlanta, Nike "recognized that women's
sports were finally coming of age" and had deals with
Olympic stars Sheryl Swoopes and Mia Hamm. Starr adds that
"thanks to their Olympic prominence, [Nike] now promotes
them more aggressively." Starr: "In an era of overkill,
there are Olympic stars, but not Olympic immortals. New
ones come along every two years. Before Atlanta, there was
Dan Jansen, and in just eight months, there will be Michelle
Kwan or Tara Lipinski" (NEWSWEEK, 7/21 issue).
