Lane9: Track, field & money George M. Perry

The Rule 40 blackout period should be a non-issue for properly activated sponsorships. But for track & field, it's a dire event because the athletes and sponsors (if we can call them that) have such a superficial relationship.

When was the last time you thanked your employer? Probably never, because you trade your work for their money. Pro track & field athletes need to approach their sponsor relationships the same way, and stop talking like they have nothing to offer.

Track & field athletes lament their one-sided contracts, but the sponsors probably feel the same way. When was the last time an athlete, agent or property asked a prospective sponsor "What do you want? What would benefit you?" and then went back and figured out a solution?

Sports sponsorship requires more from the brand and the property than slapping a logo on something. What did the sponsors of recent track & field events hope to get from their involvement, and did they do anything to reach that goal? What will Puma do to activate their new post-collegiate group in North Carolina?

Two stories, five years apart, set the stage for a stark choice that everyone faces when someone new appears in your Inbox: be an eagle and respond, or be a s**tbird and ignore them.

Track & field athletes need purge the word "No" from their vocabulary, because the institutions to which they entrust their careers are far too comfortable saying "No" at every turn.