How much is a spot on an Olympian’s shoulder worth?
Nick Symmonds put his skin on the eBay auction site, offering to wear a temporary tattoo with the name of the highest bidder as he competes for a spot on the U.S. team for the London Games this summer.
The stunt wasn’t so much to make money as it was to make a point. Symmonds, a four-time U.S. outdoor champion in the 800 meters, is a vocal critic of what he says are the “antiquated” sponsorship rules of track and field’s international ruling body, the IAAF, and to a lesser extent, the guidelines of USA Track & Field.
He says those rules limit the amount of money athletes can bring in to pursue their careers.
“My No. 1 goal, aside from making the Olympic team and winning a medal, is to bring awareness to how many struggling athletes there are out there — and wouldn’t be if we could just lift these regulations and allow athletes to pursue individual sponsorships a little more freely,” he said.
The space on Symmonds’ shoulder commanded $11,100 from a Wisconsin-based active lifestyle marketing firm, Hanson Dodge Creative. In return for the winning bid announced Wednesday, Symmonds will wear the company’s Twitter name prominently displayed on his left shoulder throughout the season.
Symmonds won’t be able to show the logo at certain events, especially international meets governed by the IAAF. Instead, he’ll wear a big bandage over the tattoo, which he believes will bring even more attention to both the company and his personal cause.
He said he’ll have to cover up on Feb. 18 when he is expected to run in the Sydney Grand Prix. The first time he’ll be able to show it is May 5, when he plans to run at the Oregon Twilight in Eugene.
Logos and branding have become a big issue in track because athletes depend on sponsorship dollars to be able to train and travel. But there are numerous restrictions on their use and the results can sometimes be almost comical, with athletes forced to use duct tape to cover company emblems and names on their clothes and shoes.
Symmonds’ activism is drawing attention to the stiff competition for financial aid — especially in hard economic times. The situation is especially problematic for lesser-known athletes who can’t attract the lucrative deals that the sport’s stars can.
Symmonds, who counts Nike among his major sponsors along with Hanson Dodge, got the idea to put his skin on eBay from shot putter Adam Nelson, who several years back auctioned himself off on eBay for $12,000. To put that sum in perspective, it only paid for about a month of training.
Symmonds, for his part, understands the bigger picture that sponsorship money helps drive the sport, but he’d also like more resources available for athletes.
“I can’t watch these governing bodies let all the advertising dollars pass through them, and only allow a fraction to trickle down to the athletes,” he said. “It’s not right.”
