The Influence Modern Technology Has on Athlete Success
The digital age has transformed the modern athlete into players that have to consider brand endorsements as part of their every day life. For example. Ronaldo has more than 46 million followers on Twitter – more than LeBron James by almost 15 million. Athletes are now walking brands that are a representation of their team, sponsored companies and much more. Ohio University’s prestigious Masters in Coaching program discusses technology advancements and the impact of endorsements on the modern athlete.
The development of the modern athlete written by Jordan Opel.
Soccer News: Sports professionals from years past did not have to deal with what athletes do today. Most of these changes can be directly associated with the internet, social media and high-paced media. An athlete is put in the limelight easily and popularity is gained quickly. All of this attention has made athletes more than simply professional sports people. They are walking brands, a representation of their team, and much more.
The truth is that the role of the athlete has been slowly changing for some time. Some could trace this back to Arnold Palmer, a premier golfer in the 1960s. Palmer used his image to make over $500,000 in addition to his athletic work. Palmer ended up representing 15 corporations in his day.
This only grew by the time Michael Jordan came into the picture. Jordan ended up making $2.5 million from his endorsements back in 1984, though this number jumped in 2013 when he signed $100 million in endorsements. It should be noted that these athletes were asked to wear the logo of the company, attend events, and avoid representing any corporate competition.
Today’s athletes have more to consider regarding endorsements as they tend to make a lot more money. Social media, for one, is now included in most endorsement contracts. This means that athletes must talk about the corporations that have endorsed them on their own personal social media account. Take Lebron James, for example, whose cost per tweet is now worth $139,474.
Sure, more money sounds great to modern athletes, but the reality is that there is much more pressure to perform off-the-court because of these endorsement deals. Technology is so widely available that many of the athletes’ actions are always under the microscope.
If an athlete decides to have a party and drinks a little too much, a fan with a smartphone might capture the lunacy. This athlete now stands to lose some value due to the damage that he or she received. Of course, this is a small offense, but there are other problems that could arise like that of Ryan Lochte’s recent robbery scandal. Lochte’s incident has definitely hurt him and his value as an asset to many corporations. The controversy spread like wildfire on the internet through Facebook, Twitter, and others social media sites and now, the swimmer faces a 10 month probation from competing recognized by both the United States Olympic Committee and USA Swimming.
It’s clear to see that everything is not always greener on the other side. Athletes have more than one job now that their image is so closely scrutinized.
Of course, there are other benefits that the modern athlete is enjoying such as performance monitors and smart, wearable devices. These technologies can help athletes stay on top of their health through monitoring heart rate or body fat. Other wearable technology is meant to track an athlete’s performance. This allows trainers, athletes and recruiters to have a better understanding of their performance.
Having a better idea of an athlete’s performance might help the coach work on problem areas, which could make him or her a better player. Another technology being introduced will make personalized shoes for some athletes. The concept will use 3D technology to make an exact image of a person’s foot, and it will make a shoe out of that imprint. This can give athletes like runners a more flexible and effective shoe, which should boost their athletic performance.
There are many more technological advances in the works for athletes, which is why it is important to make a valiant effort to try to understand how some of these changes might affect today’s athlete. The below infographic created by Ohio University’s prestigious Masters in Coaching program discusses these advancements while analyzing the impact of endorsements on the modern athlete.
Ohio University’s infographic on the subject is provided below. Additional studies by the program can be viewed here.
Source: Circa Interactive
