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EVENTS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
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Olympic Athlete Representation: 101
Updated: Wednesday June 13, 2001 3:31 PM
My goal in this column is to give some first-hand knowledge and perspective on what goes on behind the scenes in the athlete representation business with Olympic athletes. Simply put, I am a sports agent. Not the Jerry McGuire variety (I am taller and have 32 more clients then good ol' Tom Cruise), but a working class sports marketer, trying to assist some of the best athletes in the world make their dreams and lifelong aspirations financially feasible.
Make no mistake about it -- I have the greatest job in the world. Some of my clients consider me to be a sports psychologist because I pick them up when they are down on their training or performance. Some of my clients consider me to be like a parent or friend. And some of my clients consider me to be a facilitator of money, fame and opportunities. Quite frankly, I have to be all of these things, every day. With the Winter Olympics less than a year away, what has become very clear in my business is everyone is jockeying for position. Athletes, agents, media, corporations. We all know this huge, pulsating sports extravaganza will lift off come February 2002. Each athlete is positioned just a little differently. Let me show you briefly how the athletes are viewed:
Current and former Olympic medalistsThese are some of the rarest athletes in the United States. Unlike the Summer Games where, as an example, some 48 of 54 U.S. Olympic swimmers (95%) medaled in Sydney, U.S. Winter Olympic gold medalists are few and far between. Names like Bonnie Blair, Dan Jansen, Cathy Turner, Eric Heiden, Peggy Fleming, Tara Lapinski and others spark like hot ashes on dry leaves during this time. Companies looking for the past champion's perspective have a much smaller pool to choose from than during the Summer Olympics. Current Olympic medalists, such as Eric Bergoust (freestyle aerial ski jumping), Picabo Street, Michelle Kwan, Jonny Moseley, members of the women's hockey team, etc. are also very hot commodities during this pre-Olympic period.
Olympic hopefulsAhhh, now here is where the real fun starts. Who is the next Bonnie Blair? The next Eric Heiden? Who has what it takes to win the gold? Electrify Madison Avenue? Who can capture the imagination of the three billion people scheduled to watch? Is it bobsledders Jean Racine and Jen Davidson (the current No. 1 team in the world)? Is it Jimmy Shea in Skeleton, who is trying to be the first third generation American Olympian? What about speedskaters Apollo Ohno, Jen Rodriguez or Derek Para? Does Daron Rahlves have what it takes on the slopes in Utah? Can anyone beat Michelle Kwan this time around? So many options, so few answers and only seven months from the Games. That is pressure. If you are an advertising executive or a brand manager for a company discussing utilizing an Olympic athlete, get out your crystal ball, because no one really knows. My job is to sell on the hype! When my clients Jean Racine and Jen Davidson were featured in an article in Sports Illustrated and SI For Women February 2001, the phones rang off the hook! Media interviews, endorsement opportunities, book deals, and on and on and on. This is just the tip of the iceberg and a dream come true for an agent. If you are good, you have relationships that are pre-existing with companies, media, Olympic sponsors, and the great folks at the USOC who provide appearances and financial support for the athletes. If you are not, you sit by the phone and pray it rings. And you wait and wait and wait. With 33 summer and winter athletes as clients, I figure it is time to go after these corporations and share my enthusiasm for my clients' unbelievable journeys, dedication and perseverance. I am amazed every day by what incredible will and dedication each one of these champions have. I need to be able to craft their lives, accomplishments and potential into a 30-second pitch to someone I may have never met. Can the sacrifice of these athletes that took a lifetime of heartache, pain and work possibly be turned into a one-dimensional marketing proposal that someone reading it may understand and want to invest their budget and marketing dollars into? You better believe it can!
Evan Morgenstein is president of Premier Management Group. He represents one of the largest groups of Olympic athletes in the world, including Brooke
Bennett, Misty Hyman and Amanda Beard in swimming, Mark Ruiz in diving,
Eric Bergoust in skiing, and Jean Racine and Jen Davidson in bobsled.
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