How endorsements are helping top female athletes to cash in

In his article for the Daily Mail, Alex Miller claims that the marketability of Britain’s top female athletes prior to the 2012 games, has allowed them to negotiate endorsement pay rises, and also the chance to take on additional sponsors.

He states that:

“The highest profile female British athletes typically take on up to four major endorsements, each worth up to £150,000 a year”.

Jessica Ennis, Victoria Pendleton, Jenna Randall, Keri-Anne Payne and Laura Bechtolsheimer have been able to cash in on the games by substantially increasing their incomes. 


Each of these have noticed a major increase in their salaries from endorsements. The table below looks at the difference between their 2011 income and their 2012 income. 

(source: Charlee Greenhalgh)

This table compares the female athletes and looks at their sponsors, and how they have changed in the last 12 months. 

(source: Charlee Greenhalgh)

Jessica Ennis

Jessica's sponsorship deals with Powerade, Aviva, BP and Olay are estimated to be worth around £150,000 each. 

Her contact with Aviva requires her to only work six days a year, so that her training schedule remains untouched. 

Her kit sponsorship deal with Adidas is thought to be the biggest deal for a Team GB athlete, the deal is estimated to be worth around £320,000 including performance related add-ons. 

Victoria Pendleton

In the last twelve months Victoria Pendleton has been able to take on three new sponsors, which has allowed her income to increase by 50 per cent. 

Her lucrative sponsorship deal with Hovis is estimated to be worth around £150,000 - the deal involved TV, print and on-pack promotions. 

Keri-Anne Payne

Keri-Anne Payne's new sponsorship deal with Max Factor is set to be worth around £70,000 a year. 

This year female sponsorships have been significantly increasing, and these five women are set to become some of the highest paid athletes in the run up to the 2012 games.

What lengths will Olympic athletes go to to be sponsored?

With the Olympic budget spiralling out of control the sponsorship system continues to fail struggling athletes in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games. 


Through this lack of support athletes are turning to drastic ways to compete equally with other athletes and obtain sponsors. The example of Olympic runner James Ellington highlights the real struggle within the athletic community and the failure of the sponsorship system.


Olympic sponsorship is a form of survival for most athletes, especially those who compete in non-paying events such as the Olympic Games. Sponsorship can cover the cost of living and training for amateur athletes in several different forms including private, corporate, and team ownership.

According to findasponsor.com “Olympic sponsorships contribute more than 40% of Olympic income” and with the Olympics fast approaching sponsorship deals for athletes are becoming more sought after. One athlete who took his search for an Olympic sponsor to the next level is UK Olympic runner James Ellington who after struggling to find a sponsor put himself on Ebay in a last ditch attempt to secure a sponsorship deal.

Although Ellington managed to secure a place on team GB without any kind of kit endorsements or sponsorship he still was desperate for commercial sponsorship so he could be able to compete to his best potential.  Ellington revealed in a recent BBC interview (see the hyperlink for a link to their article and a video of his televised interview)

In this interview Ellington discusses how Olympic funding doesn’t filter down, in some cases, where it’s needed most, leaving talented athletes struggling to compete but supports “Pin athletes”.  It is transparent that the budget favours the more recognisable athletes such as Usain Bolt and also the Games’ reputation e.g. the opening ceremony.

But why is this? Ellington’s story highlights where the current Olympic sponsorship system and budget fails to support individual athletes. In a recent report the Daily Mail breaks down elements of the Olympic budget and states that the budget is currently 10 times what was previously predicted in 2005. The report states that 


"The predicted cost of the games when London won the bid in 2005 was £2.37billion. That figure has now spiralled to more than £12billion and could reach as much as £24billion, the Sky Sports investigation claims...This figure includes the build of the venues and the £600million police and security budget. The government has just allocated an extra £41million (with a £7million contingency) from this budget to LOCOG to pay for the Opening Ceremony, which is set to cost £81million total"

Reading through this article you can see that a lot of money has been allocated to the Olympic legacy, stadiums and legalities but there is no mention of support for the athletes themselves or any sponsorship allocations.

It is becoming increasingly clearer that athletes have to take sponsorship matters into their own hands and attempt to get their own sponsorship deals. With all the previous gold medal winners and recognisable faces getting the easy ride athletes who have previously struggled with injury or are less well known are getting left at the side lines. Ellington managed to secure a sponsorship deal with a shaving company but will all struggling athletes have to take such extreme measures, and should they have to? Shouldn’t the Olympic budget, organisations such as LOCOG and sponsorship system prioritise our athletes?