Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse took bronze in the 100-meter on Sunday at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, and now "faces a huge seven-figure decision over the next few weeks -- whether to run his senior year" at USC, or "sign with one of the dozens of agents clamouring to work" with him, according to Lori Ewing of the CP. De Grasse has "talked about returning to school in the past, but didn’t sound so sure Sunday night." He said, "A lot has changed right now." A source said that De Grasse "was offered a seven-figure shoe deal ... back in June -- well before Sunday’s breathtaking race for bronze at the Bird’s Nest Stadium, and even before his double-gold Pan American Games performance in July." Ewing wrote De Grasse is a "marketer’s dream." The "track and field version" of Canadian T'Wolves F Andrew Wiggins, De Grasse is "young, humble, likable and oozing with potential." Additionally, the 100-meter is the "glamour event of the Olympics." Sprint Management Managing Partner Kris Mychasiw said, "Everyone is trying to sign him. If he said he wanted to go pro, and that he wanted to sign with us, I’d do somersaults around the Edge Walk.” Mychasiw "estimates De Grasse could earn much as C$700,000 in endorsement deals" in '16, and "could ink a shoe contract worth an additional $700,000 a year." He said, "The shoe deal is security but he would be very valuable in an Olympic year" (CP, 8/24).
COOL-DOWN PERIOD: The AP reports U.S. Gold-Medal winning decathlete Ashton Eaton "will wear a specially designed cooling hood" at the IAAF World Championships this weekend. Researchers for his sponsor, Nike, "came up with a cap that contains inner layers that are designed to keep water cool without leaking." Eaton "plans to don the white hat in between events" (AP, 8/25).
