Chinese sports stars are starting to make a lot of money from sponsorships and advertising events. However, since athletics is still an ‘amateur sport’ and the athletes are not as free as professional sports people to pocket endorsement money, where does the money actually go?
The October 5 issue of All Sports (quan tiyu) has an article discussing famous athletes’ income from sponsorships and endorsements, focusing on Olympic hurdles gold medalist Liu Xiang.
According to Wang Dawei, the associate director of China Track and Field Administration, the advertising-related income of sports stars is distributed as below:
Blue (30%) – the athletes’ final actual income
Orange (20%) – personal income tax
Yellow (15%) – for relevant sports administration body
Pink (15%) – for coaches
Green (20%) – for the relevant provincial authorities
According to Wang this distribution model is defined by the training system in Chinese athletics, and unclear ‘ownership’ of the athletes.