Holmenkollen (Nitavisen): Someone who knows a little about how to handle sponsorship and bonus agreements is biathlete Sjästad Christiansen. This weekend, he goes to the World Cup finals in Holmenkollen, the place where Johaug produced some of his best performances.
-She probably had a little more control than me so she could win most things. So perhaps there was no problem, Sjaestad Christiansen tells Nettavisen about the choice made by Yohaug regarding his sponsorship agreements.
Because on the “Doers” podcast, Johaug talks about how she's dealt with sponsorship deals throughout her career, and how things went when she landed her first big sponsorship deal as a cross-country runner.
That happened after she took a surprise bronze medal in the three-mile WC race in Sapporo in 2007. Then she was contacted by Asko's Torbjörn Johansson, who stepped in with money and began sponsoring Johaug.
Asko ended up being Johaug's long-term sponsor, as they nurtured her throughout her career.
In the podcast, Gohough says that throughout her career she has wanted bonus agreements larger than a large standard amount, or so-called “fixed amount”, in her sponsorship agreements, where bonuses are applied to, for example, winning a gold medal in the WC or Olympic Games. .
– Because then I feel like I deserve it. That would be a little motivation for me too. You don't feel like you're just extracting money from people and then not returning it. I would probably prefer to have bonus agreements that were a little larger than a “fixed amount,” as Gogh says on the podcast.
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– It was never the driving force
The aforementioned Sjestad Christiansen believes Johaug's choice was a wise one, as she has won a total of 25 championship medals during her career.
He told Nettavisen that it is common for athletes to have a cap in agreements with sponsors on the amount of money that can be paid. If Gohog also feels that way about her sponsors, he thinks she will have little trouble making it happen.
-She probably hit her salary cap every season. He says: I think so because I know those agreements, without knowing exactly what the Yohag agreement was like.
However, Gohough is clear that money has never been the most important thing to her throughout her career as a cross-country runner.
-Money has never been my driving force in wanting to skate fast. The most important thing to me is to be able to achieve those goals. Standing on top of the podium is the driving force to be out in nature and do your best, she says.
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-You'll never know
After all, sponsorship deals are an important source of income for athletes, and Sjestad Christiansen says that as an athlete you are automatically interested in exploiting your potential, whether it is physical, mental or market value.
“But I think you're more concerned with there having to be a proper value to what you get versus what you think it's worth to the sponsor,” he says.
It is believed that having a high so-called “fixed amount” can serve as a good guarantee for athletes, if for one reason or another they cannot achieve good results.
-You never know how things are going to go, and I think it's easier from the outside to believe that things are always going to go well, but you're not sure as a performer. You can get sick, you can get into a bad downward spiral, especially in biathlon with the mental aspect in terms of shooting, he explained.
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– The only thing I think
Johannes Thingnes Bö also realizes that sponsorship agreements are very important for athletes.
– It is clear that the support we have is important. We really appreciate companies that would like to use their logo, name and reputation and associate them with us. After all, there is pressure to deliver. That's the only thing I think about when I enter the tournament, which is that I have to be good enough so that the sponsors are satisfied with the work I'm doing, he tells Netavisen.
Like Johaug, Sjåstad Christiansen believes Thingnes Bø will have no major problems reaching that salary cap in agreements with sponsors.
Thingnes Bø has to laugh at Sjåstad Christiansen's assumption.
– I don't quite know that. We'll have to sit back after the season and see, he says humbly.
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