Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Michael Phelps Locks Up Olympic Immortality And Post-Career Millions



Forbes reports that Michael Phelps’ agent, Peter Carlisle, told the world four years ago that his client could earn $100 million over the course of his lifetime from sponsors. It is an astronomical sum for any athlete, much less an athlete in a sport that the general public pays attention to only once every four years.

But Phelps is not like most athletes and he certainly is not like most swimmers. Phelps cemented his legacy Tuesday, when he became the most decorated Olympian ever with 19 Olympic medals—one more than Russian gymnast Larissa Latynina. Phelps tied the record with a silver medal in the 200-meter butterfly after being outstretched by South Africa’s Chad le Clos. Phelps then swam the anchor leg in the 4×200-meter freestyle, clinching the gold and the overall medal record. It was his 15th career gold medal, which is six more than any other Olympian. Phelps still has three more events to swim in London....

Forget Phelps' homely mug.  Or rather get used to it. Phelps has 11 sponsors including, Subway, Hilton, Omega, and all but two of them use Phelps on a global scale. Speedo is the longest tenured, having signed Phelps in 2002. Speedo offered Phelps a $1 million bonus if he could win eight gold medals in Beijing. Phelps used the bonus money to start the Michael Phelps Foundation.  As popular as Phelps is in the U.S., his stature might be even bigger internationally…..

Read all about it at http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/08/01/michael-phelps-locks-up-olympic-immortality-and-post-career-millions/

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