The life of the average professional American athlete is often perceived to be adventurous, glamorous, and especially affluent.  After all, what could possibly be better than entertaining a mass audience of adoring fans by doing what you love for an exorbitant amount of money?  I would argue: Nothing.  However, this perception of the affluent, lax, and content professional American athlete is proved very wrong through the sport of track and field.  The life of a professional track and field athlete would be quite the contrary.  Track and field athletes are hard-working, organized, and dedicated individuals that could be greatest in the world, or an unknown athlete based on a one second difference in event times.  Unfortunately, these athletes' wages are highly polarized and a few of these athletes are making very little money.  The sport of track and field is one of the oldest sports known to man and is consistently one of the most viewed events during the Summer Olympic Games, which is the most viewed television program in history (Belliappa).  The United States Track and Field organization, otherwise known as USATF, deters our hard-working, American track and field athletes from making a decent living.  USATF has been stealing money from athletes by essentially allowing the sports brand Nike monopolize the market.  The organization refuses to compensate their athletes fairly and properly for the loss of wages due to the allowance of monopolization by not distributing a fair amount of revenue earned back to these athletes representing the United States who more or less market the Nike brand for free.  This is a relevant problem within the American track and field system that causes many athletes to be making a poverty level salary through running and are either forced to get a second job on top of their hours of training, or live in poverty. 

This problem is one that has been addressed in the past, however, has never come to a solid solution.  As the Olympic year is here and stakes are high for the individuals attempting to qualify, the nations that are competing, and even the gamblers attempting to win a little extra cash, one cannot push aside the fact that the athletes competing might be making as little as $30,000 a year (Woods).  Unless their name is Usain Bolt or Caitlyn Jenner, the average professional track and field athlete is not a household name.  So why should these track and field athletes get paid as much as professional football, baseball or basketball stars? The answer is simple: They should not.  However, these athletes should get paid what they deserve and should not be shafted out of their money due to corporate greed.  This "corporate greed" is centered on the organization USATF.  USATF, a self-claimed non-profit organization, consistently gains a large revenue thanks to hardworking athletes, yet keep the majority of the profit.  USATF is the complete governing body of United States Track and Field.  This organization chooses how much, or little, to pay the athletes that earn the right to represent the United States at international competition.  This becomes a problem, however, when the organization chooses not to compensate their athletes properly.  In essence, the athletes are withheld from their hard-earned money due to the allowance of monopolization within the sport.  

In the year of 2014, the organization collected a total of $42,600,000 yet only distributed five percent of that revenue back towards the athletes (Layden). This organization creates a major wage disparity among track and field athletes where many athletes are making a ridiculously embarrassing amount of money and are typically forced to search for a second job, which in turn does not allow them to train to their full potential.  Due to these wage disparities, it causes the whole sport of American track and field to be weaker than it could be.  

The core method as to how USATF is causing a wage disparity among track and field athletes begins with the organization's contract with Nike.  USATF currently has a $500,000,000 contract with Nike that enables all official United States Track and Field uniforms, merchandise, and apparel to be Nike. Although the figure of $500,000,000 may seem glamorous, and even generous, the actual USATF athletes are not seeming to make any profit from the contract, aside from a few free items of clothing that they are required to wear.  This contract essentially states that all track and field athletes competing for the United States in any international competition must wear either USATF merchandise provided, or Nike branded clothing.  This causes a conflict with many athletes' rights and salaries as not every athlete is individually sponsored by Nike, therefore are forced to market another brand (Nike) on a world stage, while leaving their sponsored company left with no marketing.  The reason why this causes a wage disparity is that many companies are now realizing that they will never be marketed on a world stage.  These companies are now undetermined and reluctant to sign high-salary contracts with potential world-class athletes unless they happen to be a guaranteed champion within their respective events, so that allows Nike to sign the most athletes and gain the most marketing both within a national and international stage.  This contract extends until the year of 2040, which allows Nike to control the market for the next twenty-four years (Layden).  Although this contract is completely legal, and seems profitable to both parties, the fact of the matter is that this contract has (and will continue to) enabled a large wage disparity among track and field athletes, which is incredibly immoral.  Due to such conditions, many Olympic track and field athletes have spoken out in favor for athletes' rights, sponsorships and wages.     

Nick Symmonds has been the most recent voice within the track and field community pushing for athlete's rights and wages.  The two-time Olympian, five-time United States 800 meter champion, and former Nike-sponsored athlete has much to say on the subject.  In the year of 2014, Symmonds' contract with Nike ended, so he signed a new contract with Brooks Running, however, this would not come without its difficulties.  In the previous year of 2015, Symmonds would go on to win his fifth USA champion in the 800 meter run and earn himself a spot on the World Championship team, and the honor of being able to represent the United States at such.  However, due to USATF's contract with Nike, he was left off as he refused to sign a vague statement claiming that he must wear Nike or USATF gear at all "official team functions." (Layden). Symmonds claims, "This vague commitment is hugely problematic for all non-Nike sponsored athletes who are contractually obligated to wear their sponsor's gear at all times outside of official team functions." (Symmonds).

Through this contract, there are conflicts between other sponsoring companies and Nike.  Although Nike fully has the rights to USATF gear, merchandise, and apparel because of their massive $500,000,000 contract, the organization USATF does not allow non-Nike sponsored athletes to flourish nearly as much as Nike sponsored athletes.  In many cases, Nike is often seen as the "bully" within the running world, as they strong-arm other companies to submit to such conditions simply because they can out-pay any willing organization or buyer.  However, there are individuals fighting for the rights of athletes and other sponsors.  Nick Symmonds and Lauren Fleshman are two of the biggest voices in the track and field community when talking about athletes' rights.  Having trained specifically for the goal of making the world-championship every day for two years only to be left off the roster due to a vague statement may seem trivial, but Symmonds is fighting not only for his own rights as an individual athletes, but all other striving non-Nike sponsored athletes. 

There are plenty of phenomenal non-Nike sponsored athletes within the U.S. many of them even winning big U.S. titles (Nick Symmonds for example).  These non-Nike sponsored athletes may be able to win championship races, but these athletes are left in the dust when it comes to their rights as professional track and field athletes.  Within the track and field community, athletes are given the right to be contractually obligated to any company that will be willing to sponsor them, and often times these contracts state that each of their athletes must wear the clothing provided to them by the respective company.  These athletes are seen as investments, because when these athletes are able to compete at widely broadcasted races or meets, they are essentially a walking billboard for their sponsored company.  However, with USATF allowing Nike to monopolize the market, companies feel less motivated to sponsor athletes and pay their way to train.  By doing such, overall American track and field becomes weaker, the exact opposite direction in which USATF is meant for.  USATF's job is solely to further American track and field in numbers, strength, and speed.  Symmonds explains the problematic system and contract in an interview with KOIN6 News.  Within the news report, Portland Business Journal's Matthew Kish explains how Nike forced the Canadian women's soccer team to wear Nike clothes during the world cup at all times of travel, leisure, and competition.  Symmonds claims that he is afraid this will happen to track and field which will lead to other companies no longer sponsoring athletes and, "We will not be able to live and train." 

Nick Symmonds may be the most vocal and active member of the track and field community attempting to make change, but there are others.  Lauren Fleshman, two-time U.S. champion in the 5000 meter run and three time World Championship qualifier, is another strong voice that speaks out against USATF in this matter.  Fleshman, also a previously Nike-sponsored athlete, claims that USATF not only creates a disincentive among other companies to sponsor athletes due to their contract with Nike, but also the marketing techniques that USATF chooses to use.  Fleshman analyzed a recent commercial that USATF launched on NBC.  Although having a commercial on such a big network could be a huge stepping stone for the advancement of American track and field, there was one detail that Fleshman could not help but notice.  The athletes were cropped.  Not every athlete, but just the non-Nike sponsored athletes.  Within her personal blog she provides photographs of the commercial which showcase shots of individual athletes within the commercial.  Clearly, one could see that all Nike-sponsored athletes not only got the most screen-time, but their brand was also showcased on their clothing as well.  However, the non-Nike sponsored athletes, who are all just as good of athletes, debatably better, were all cropped to show just their faces (Fleshman).

Fleshman then expands on the economic standpoint of why companies decide to sponsor athletes in the first place by writing, "So that they can get national and international exposure when these athletes are showcased, so they can align their brand in the public eye with the individuals they pay money to." (Fleshman) This concept of investing a company's money into an individual hoping for a return in revenue is not possible if their companies are never given the chance to be marketed on a national level.  Fleshman then expands on the idea that the Nike takeover is not only bad for the non-Nike sponsored athletes, but for Nike sponsored athletes as well.  She explains this by writing, "this is what happens: The sponsors go away.  Sponsors give smaller salaries on average to reflect limited return.  Without competing offers from other brands, Nike deals shrink too.  THE WHOLE SPORT SHRINKS." (Fleshman) With the sport "shrinking" this, in return, becomes bad not only for Nike's rival companies, but for Nike as well.  If the whole sport of track and field shrinks, a large part of Nike's revenue is then cut due to USATF's unwillingness to compromise with other companies.  Many of these athletes are fighting not only for their own rights, but for the rights of their sponsors and from a corporate marketing standpoint.  

Due to the current and steady shrinking of the sport of track and field due to USATF's ignorance and allowance of Nike's monopolization, the sport itself has been hurt.  Competition within the U.S. is slowly but surely shrinking due to the lack of sponsorships and low salaries available through these sponsorships.  This is shown evident through the most recent World Championship.  In addition the fact that USATF decided to leave Nick Symmonds, a highly contested potential medal-winner, off the roster at the World Championship, the U.S. suffered poorly within medal count.  At the most recent World Championship, the U.S. only won a total medal count of eighteen, the lowest medal count for the U.S. since the 2003 World Championship when they only won sixteen (Hersh).  Not only is this a weak medal count, and a disappointed fact, but the correlation between the medal counts is directly reflective of USATF's behavior and relationship between their athletes.  USATF leaving Nick Symmonds off the roster and refusing to describe what an "official" team function is shows the lack of a proper system within the organization.  

USATF has made an attempt to please their athletes by providing a new incentive program.  The incentive is simply a monetary prize provided if the individual athlete qualifies for a World Championship or Olympic team, and if the athlete receives a medal at either event.  The monetary value is, respectively: $10,000 for qualifying for either team, $25,000 for winning a gold medal at either event, $15,000 for winning a silver medal, and $10,000 for winning a bronze medal (Lorge).  Many elite athletes are praising this new payment model, however, the model does not fix the main problem at hand here.  The model does incentivize athletes to remain within the sport at the slight chance that they may one day qualify for either a World or Olympic team, however, the model does not fix the problems of low sponsorship and salaries.  The model actually exacerbates the wage disparity among track and field athletes by allowing only the very best three in the nation, and then three in the world, win money.  

This model may seem like a step in the right direction, and may give some elite athletes a bit of hope while training day in and day out, however, the sad truth is that many professional runners make as little as $5,000 a year through the sport of track and field (Woods).  Due to the huge wage disparity among track and field athletes, many athletes could be making more money simply working at McDonalds.  This problem once again comes around to the domination of Nike within the sport of track and field.  If Nike were not as dominate within the organization of USATF, other smaller companies would have more opportunities to sponsor athletes, which in turn allows athletes to make enough money to at least survive while training for their dreams.  Nike could still be just as strong of a company within the sport itself, however, if USATF keeps athletes under contracts withholding them from their respective sponsors, eventually the other companies will simply quit trying, receive less marketing, and die out which will allow Nike to be the only standing firm left within the track and field community.  

The company Nike started on the core principle to help sponsor runners and supply them with clothing and shoes to compete in.  The company has since turned into a global behemoth of sports apparel, shoes, and nearly anything that you could possibly think of.  Although leading the world as a sports company, Nike is not leading simply due to their superb products.  The company has come this far due to their marketing techniques.  Nike often uses marketing techniques that are seem as wrong, immoral, and sometimes illegal.  There are many cases in which Nike seems to be using somewhat immoral marketing techniques to trick consumers into buying their product.  These cases include the cropped commercial that Lauren Fleshman spoke of where some of America's best track and field athletes were showcased, yet only the Nike athlete's clothing was included.  This raises the question as to how much power exactly does Nike have when it comes to advertisement and marketing within the sport?  Another example is Nick Symmonds' case in which the USATF contract vaguely suggested that Symmonds only bring Nike and USATF issued gear with him to the World Championship.  Although Nike bought the right to sponsor the U.S. team at international competition, they did not buy the right to have these athletes wear their gear outside of competition or official team functions.  A third recent example would be the Sochi Olympics in which Nike was in the wrong for a commercial they decided to claim the idea that Nike was the official sponsor of the Sochi Olympics, which they were not (Epstein). 

Ambush marketing is a sneaky, immoral, and illegal technique that Nike has seemed to get away with in a few cases.  Ambush Marketing is essentially when an advertiser intentionally associates itself with an event without paying or buying the rights to said event.  When a company or advertiser associates itself with an event without payment of the said event, these individuals are essentially free-riding an event to further expand their brand.  This is not only immoral for deceiving viewers, but the companies that commit these acts are stealing from other companies and especially the true sponsors of the event. During the Sochi Olympics, Nike aired a commercial that suggested to all viewers that they were the official sponsors of the Sochi Olympics, which they were not.  This was a recent event that shows Nike's immoral marketing techniques not only within the track and field community, but as a company as a whole.  However, Nike's immoral marketing techniques do come back to effect the track and field athletes.  As Nike creates commercials through ambush marketing, they gain revenue in an unsavory way as viewers are more likely to buy their brand.  Due to the fact that consumers have bought more of the Nike brand, this eventually builds up to allow Nike to have the greatest total profit and revenue as a company, which in turn allows them to overpower other companies and place a $500,000,000 offer to USATF that no other company could match.  

American track and field athletes are running for their lives.  These athletes are training day in and day out for a chance at the Olympic dream, however, these dreams are cut short thanks to USATF and Nike.  Through USATF's allowance of Nike's monopolization, the refusal of communication, and both USATF's and Nike's marketing techniques, professional track and field athletes are not getting paid nearly as much as they deserve.  While plenty of other sports organizations have been able to pay their athletes with excess amounts of money, track and field still has problems to fix within the system.  There are professional track and field athletes that are forced to get second jobs, or that are living in poverty thanks to USATF and Nike.  The organization refuses to compensate their athletes properly for qualifying for international competitions aside from the World Championship and the Olympic Games.  USATF has helped and encouraged Nike to create a huge wage disparity among American track and field athletes.  The problem has come to a point where many collegiate track and field stars no longer strive to become Olympians or record holders because these individuals know that there is a slim chance of them even making a decent living through running.  Track and field is one of the oldest sports known to man, yet the sport itself is being tarnished due to the fact that many of our athletes simply cannot live comfortably if they choose to pursue their dreams.  The original Olympic champions were treated as kings and were the closest entities to gods that a mortal could have the honor of becoming.  Now, there is a chance that you may only win $35,000 in the journey to becoming an Olympic gold medalist in track and field.  American track and field has a major problem, it has been addressed, but if nothing is done soon, the sport as whole may vanish.

