Decisions, Decisions, What's a Gold Medalist to Do?

[easysurfer]

Interesting choice for Missy Franklin. Follow her dreams and values, or get a huge payout with endorsements.

Missy Franklin's dilemma: Go pro or go to college? - TODAYMoms

I bet the decision is even tougher turning around and seeing other medalists gettting huge endorsements.

 

[pb4uski]

+1 I think I would tell her to follow her heart. If she goes for the gold she will have more than enough to put herself through college but she won't be able to swim competitively.

I will admit it seems odd to me that endorsement money that is unrelated to sport would ruin one's amateur status - if her sport had a professional version (like tennis does) and she played in professional tournaments for prize money then I can see it but for endorsement only tangentially realted to her sport I don't get it.

 

[easysurfer]

That is a disconnect. For example, in the old days, only college players were the olympics basketball team. But now, it's the pros who make tons of money already.

 

[Dawg52]

She can still go to college and swim, just not on the college team. I can't imagine passing up the endorsements. There is no guarantee the money will be there 4 years from now.

Take the money, go to college and prepare for the next Olympics. Pretty close to the best of both worlds.

 

[Nords]

She can still go to college and swim, just not on the college team. I can't imagine passing up the endorsements. There is no guarantee the money will be there 4 years from now.

Take the money, go to college and prepare for the next Olympics. Pretty close to the best of both worlds.

That reminds me of a fable:
Young bull: "Hey, look at all those cows! Let's run over there and have our way with one of 'em!"
Older bull: "Nah, let's walk over there, and we'll have our way with 'em all..."

I think Missy is going to pass on the endorsement money and get a scholarship to swim on the team (with perhaps some generous "donations" to her college from various companies). Four years from now, assuming that she's been sweeping it up in the national competitions, she'll go back to the Olympics to win even more medals, and then she'll start hauling in the pro endorsements.

How may Olympics is one competitor good for? How many did Dara Torres swim?

 

[donheff]

I think Missy is going to pass on the endorsement money and get a scholarship to swim on the team (with perhaps some generous "donations" to her college from various companies). Four years from now, assuming that she's been sweeping it up in the national competitions, she'll go back to the Olympics to win even more medals, and then she'll start hauling in the pro endorsements.

+1 At 17 I doubt she is worrying about the need to achieve financial independence. This option gives her a good chance to pursue her dreams and grab the money. But, if I was her father I wouldn't push this direction on her. If she likes the idea of grabbing the brass ring while it is there for the taking I would only push that she invest it wisely and not blow it all on sex, drugs, trinkets and toys.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

She can still go to college and swim, just not on the college team. I can't imagine passing up the endorsements. There is no guarantee the money will be there 4 years from now.

Take the money, go to college and prepare for the next Olympics. Pretty close to the best of both worlds.

+1 Offers and deals like this are once in a lifetime. It may never come again. Grab that ring and run (swim) with it. What's the difference between an amateur and a professional? Couple million bucks.

 

[Texas Proud]

That is a disconnect. For example, in the old days, only college players were the olympics basketball team. But now, it's the pros who make tons of money already.

We are talking different rules for different events..


On the Olympics.... yes, it used to be only for 'amatuers'.... but the people in track and field got paid lots of money into some kind of trust... so they were not paid directly... so, amatuer. It is kind of hard to do that trick on a pro basketball player... so that is why they used college kids...


On college, there IS a connection... you can not take any kind of endorsement money and still qualify for NCAA.... if it were so, then all the college football players would have outside endorsements that had nothing to do with football... heck, even with the rules there is enough people who break them... what would it be like allowing endorsements...

 

[kumquat]

I would only push that she invest it wisely and not blow it all on sex, drugs, trinkets and toys.

I doubt that she would have to spend much on the sex part.

 

[Nords]

... I would only push that she invest it wisely and not blow it all on sex, drugs, trinkets and toys.

We Americans have to stop confusing our athletes & rock stars with responsible adults.

If I was 17 years old, the USOC's $25K prize for winning a gold medal would've been spent before I'd gotten out of the Olympic Village... and I probably wouldn't have had anything left over for trinkets & toys.

 

[soupcxan]

Amazing that the NCAA continues to maintain this charade that it is all about unpaid amateurs while the organization makes billions of dollars off of them.

I would give the NCAA the finger and take the endorsements. But my opinion of college athletics is pretty low.