Six billion. For some that is an unimaginable number. For others, it can be understood when measuring corporate wealth. But what is staggering about the figure of six billion is that is the amount of money estimated to exchange hands over the two weeks of the Olympics. Six billion will spread out among advertisers and corporate sponsors, all those who are legally allowed to attach their name to the Rings. Check out this article by Forbes for more on the six billion dollar transaction.
If you read the first post in this series, The Current Media Strategy is Not Sustainable, then you know that I very much believe in capitalistic principles, and at the same time I am not for the exploitation of many for the profit of the few. And that is what these athletes are, they are exploited.
The argument, of course, will be that these athletes get world-wide exposure and endorsement deals. Everyone is profiting from this right? I would say no. It is true that athletes do get great exposure and many get endorsement deals after their time at the Olympics but that is reserved for the athletes winning gold. What about those who are in the middle of the pack, which would be the vast majority? These athletes are seeing little to no financial benifits.
Must we worry about Dwyane Wade and LeBron James? Nope, they will be fine but I do think Dwyane’s comments on the Olympics, (which he got a lot of flack for) is a valid one. All of these athletes come together to compete and there is no financial benefit for most of them. To take it a step further, most of the Olympic Athletes have a hard time making ends meat providing the skill necessary to entertain us on the biggest stage.
Even if you are a purist and believe that Olympic Athletes should be at a true amateur status to keep the true spirit of competition, the reality is the Olympics are a corporate event now. An event which we as the consumers eat up and major companies reap huge financial benefits.
Isn’t time we provide the athletes who we benefit so much from some of the financial rewards that their labor brings?
