Inside Pitch: Sprinter Tyson Gay On The Fast Track With Sponsors

By Jessica Collins, Staff Writer

Gay To Make Beijing Olympic Debut Saturday

U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay will make his Olympic debut this weekend in the highly-anticipated 100-meter event in Beijing. An injury suffered on July 5 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, prohibited Gay from qualifying for the 200-meter event, but his agent, Global Athletics’ Mark Wetmore, said missing out on the 200 will not affect the sprinter's sponsorships. Gay is featured on the cover of Sega's “Beijing 2008” videogame, and Wetmore said that Gay's deal with Sega and his agreement with McDonald’s are among the sponsorships Gay signed for “personal reasons and personal satisfaction.” Alltel also inked Gay to an endorsement deal in May, allowing the company to incorporate his likeness in marketing initiatives and mobile content such as ring tones. In addition, Wetmore said Gay in March shot a TV spot for watch company Omega in the Athens Olympic Stadium. The chart below lists all of Gay’s endorsement deals. 

SPONSOR	CATEGORY	SINCE
adidas	Sportswear	2005
Omega	Watches	2007
Sega	Video Game	2007
Alltel Wireless	Wireless	2008
McDonald's	QSR	2008

EARNING HIS STRIPES: The most intriguing ad campaign featuring Gay that will run during the Olympics is with adidas. Wetmore said Gay's adidas uniform in the ad is a replica of the one Jesse Owens wore in the 1930s. "The parallels between Tyson and Jesse Owens and adidas is really trying to point out that they're both humble guys, not as big as some sluggers, soft spoken," Wetmore said. "Their running styles aren’t similar but the quickness of Tyson is very reminiscent of the way Jesse Owens ran and they both wore or are wearing adidas. adidas has something really nice there.”

IN THE LONG RUN: Wetmore believes endorsement deals will be “better and longer if things go well in Beijing.” Either way, Wetmore expects Gay’s popularity to continue and remain constant once the Games are complete. Wetmore: “He’s not a flash in the pan. He’s a guy who does things right. He’s in the sport for the long-term and so are his sponsors. The Olympics are just the beginning for him.”