May 7 (NDTV): One Olympic hopeful's fight to ensure the proper compensation of track athletes took an interesting step forward Thursday: He sold advertising space on his body in the form of a temporary tattoo worth $2,444.44 per square inch.
Nick Symmonds, a two-time Olympian and the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials champion in the men's 800 meter, auctioned off nine square inches on his right shoulder via eBay. T-Mobile CEO John Legere placed the winning bid of $21,800 and will own the rights to the temporary tattoo on the runner's shoulder as he goes for a third Olympics appearance. His left shoulder will sport an advertisement for Run Gum, a company Symmonds co-founded in 2014 that markets gum with the ingredients found in energy drinks.
The auction was an attempt to publicize Symmonds's dispute with the sports' governing bodies over the rights of athletes to advertise on their personal space. While he has been involved in several public disagreements over sponsorship rights with the USATF, the shoulder ad is part of his #OwnYourSkin movement, which requests the International Olympic Committee allow runners a spot to sell to advertisers on the uniforms.
In an interview with The Post last week, Symmonds said track and field's current system does not allow runners to properly capitalize on their brand due to prior sponsorship arrangements the IOC, United States Olympic Committee and USATF have in place and the IOC and USOC's rules forbidding athletes from wearing any advertisement outside of logos on apparel.
The eBay auction signaled the second time Symmonds has elected to solicit investments for a temporary tattoo advertisement. Legere's bid was quite a jump from the mark of $11,100 set by 2012 bid-winner, Hanson Dodge Creative. Symmonds said the initial random pairing and resulting relationship was "phenomenal," as he still works with the Milwaukee-based advertising company weekly on marketing campaigns.
"It was one of those things where you take a risk and you really don't know what's going to happen. But with much risk can come much reward," Symmonds said. "It's a relationship that went beyond a simple advertisement on my shoulder. We're still working together to this day. They're the ones that designed the logo and packaging of Run Gum."
While his new partnership with Legere will need some time before it can be deemed a success, the T-Mobile executive has a solid record as far as potential advertisers go. According to Bloomberg and a U-Mass Amherst alumni profile, Legere was a competitive runner throughout college and has since completed the Boston Marathon, including a 2004 run in which he raised $85,000 with the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team to fight cancer. He also put up $24,000 as prize money for the 2014 Michigan Track Classic and backed the doubling of the Carlsbad 5000m winnings, per FloTrack.
The 57-year-old CEO tweeted about the victory Thursday, later tweeting out a poll to see what his followers deemed the best use of his nine square inches.
The tattoo ad, which will be taped and covered by officials at Olympic events per the current rules, marks the runner's latest move to shed a light on the system he feels functions at the expense of runners.
Last August, Symmonds openly clashed with USATF over what he perceived to be vague wording in an introductory letter for the team heading to the 2015 World Championships. The letter noted the athletes' requirement to wear Nike Team USA gear "at all team functions."
Symmonds is now sponsored by Brooks, a running shoe company, meaning he has to plan both his training and casual wardrobe carefully when he takes trips with the U.S. team due to its current deal with Nike, which was extended two years ago to stretch until 2040, and the USOC's team gear requirement. He was once a part of Team Nike as an individual runner 2006-2013 and said life with USATF was markedly easier - the discrepancy became more noticeable when he and the Oregon-based company decided to part ways three years ago.
"When I'm with Brooks, for example, I have already entered into a contract in which I have an obligation to wear Brooks running gear every moment that I'm training, except for official Team USA functions," Symmonds said. "Brooks is okay with me wearing Team USA gear, and I'm okay with wearing Team USA gear, at official Team USA functions. I just need to know what those are so I don't violate my contract with Brooks."
Prior to the 2015 games, Symmonds said he told the organization he could not perform if it wasn't disclosed what their contractual obligations would entail and that the USATF subsequently declined to define the terms of the contract. He ended up sitting the competition out.
USATF spokesperson Jill Geer wrote in a recent email to The Post that the decision to not sign the agreement was Symmonds's choice, reiterating the requirements the letter outlined.
"Nick made the choice not to compete at the 2015 World Championships when he opted not to sign the Statement of Conditions, which he had signed many times in the past," Geer wrote. "Among other things, the Statement indicates that athletes must conduct themselves appropriately, attend team meetings and wear the team uniform when representing the team."
While the moves he makes may rub some the wrong way, Symmonds said, "it's an effective campaign to be annoying."
In 2011, the USATF, which used to adhere to the strict advertising guideline for all of its events, relented, allowing athletes to sport their own advertisements during non-USOC and non-IOC events. At the 2015 U.S. Championships, Symmonds was able to wear Run Gum tattoos on his biceps and shoulders and sported another logo on his chest. His company also filed a lawsuit against the USOC and USATF, claiming the bodies are violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Law with their advertisement restrictions. The USOC has since filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Symmonds will kick off his pre-Olympics slate with the Shanghai DL 800m May 14. The U.S. Olympic trials will run July 1-10.