Australian Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe, who won three
Gold medals and two Silvers in Sydney, is scheduled to
travel to N.Y. next month with agent Dave Flaskas of Grand
Slam Int'l and is "hoping to talk with companies" such as
adidas and Coca-Cola "about signing international
endorsement contracts," according to Rick Westhead of
BLOOMBERG NEWS. Flaskas is "hoping to pare" Thorpe's
current portfolio of 11 endorsement deals -- worth a
combined US$545,000 annually and most of which expire in
December -- down to four companies. Flaskas: "It's a
shrinking world and a shrinking market, and we think his
unique appeal stands up in any market. Maybe we'll ask Paul
Hogan how he became so popular there" (BLOOMBERG, 9/28). In
Australia, Rochelle Burbury reports that Nike "was not
amused" that its logo on Thorpe's warm-up suit was covered
by the Australian flag when Thorpe stood on the dais after
winning the 400-meters last week. There are "suggestions
that Nike believed" Thorpe's sponsor adidas had "persuaded"
Thorpe to cover the logo. But Thorpe and Flaskas both deny
"any deliberate attempt to hide" the logo. adidas Marketing
Dir Rob Mills added, "We in no way asked our athletes to do
that. ... We've been on the other side of that as well and
we respect that another brand is a sponsor and has certain
rights" (AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW, 9/28).
THE MIGHTY QUANN: U.S. swimmer Megan Quann, the 16-year
old two-time Gold medalist in Sydney, has signed with
Octagon. Octagon Dir of Olympics Susy Westfall will handle
the Quann account (Octagon). Octagon Dir of PR David Schwab
said Westfall "already is contacting and being contacted by
corporations." Schwab added that the endorsement
possibilities for Quann "range from swimsuits and goggles to
cereal and nutritional bars" (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/28).
GOLD STANDARD: The Bonham Group Chair Dean Bonham said
if Marion Jones "had gone into the Olympics with no
prediction and won four [Gold medals] out of five, I think
her endorsement potential would have been higher than going
into the Olympics predicting five and coming out with four.
I think she's put an incredible amount of pressure on
herself going into the Olympics." But if she "lives up to
the hype," Bonham said, "You could see her bringing in
revenue in excess of what the Williams sisters and Anna
Kournikova are bringing in." Bonham, on the endorsement
prospects of U.S. Olympians: "If I had $10 to bet, I'd bet
$7 on Marion Jones and $3 on Krayzelburg. He'd be my dark
horse" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 9/28). In Chicago, Jay Mariotti
writes, "We aren't sure what to think about Marion Jones.
No matter how many gold medals she wins, the urge will be to
stare at her and wonder" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/28).
MEDAL HEADS: MSNBC analyst Shannon Miller, on Nike:
"They spread [money] around before the Olympic Games, hoping
to spread it to the ones that are going to win a Gold medal,
and then they spread it around again after the Games." U.S.
Gold medal pole vaulter Stacy Dragila: "Hopefully, there's
opportunities out there for me to be an endorser and to be
an ambassador for young women that want to take up [pole
vaulting]" (MSNBC, 9/27)....U.S. Gold medal beach
volleyballer Eric Fonolmoana has signed a deal to endorse
SportsInstruction.com, a site dedicated to personalized
sports instruction (THE DAILY)....MSNBC's Kerry Sanders
examined the role agents play in "turn[ing] an athlete into
a bona fide global celebrity." Hudson Smith Int'l (HSI)
handles several Olympians, including sprinter Maurice
Greene. Greene: "We have to promote ourselves and act
accordingly, so that we are able to get other endorsement
deals so we can make more money." HSI's Emanuel Hudson: "My
job is to make sure that [our clients are] able to exploit
and use all the opportunities that come available to them."
Newsweek's Mark Starr: "[Hudson] feels he's changing track
and field. ... He's creating a system" (MSNBC, 9/27).
