Spare a thought for Paralympians like Matt Cowdrey. And if youre out there in corporate Australia, tell your marketing team to spare a dollar.
The 23 year old Adelaide swimmer won five gold medals at the London Paralympics, which took his lifetime tally to 13 gold medals and made him Australia’s greatest ever Paralympian.
Despite luggage weighed down with medals, Cowdrey is a lightweight in the world of corporate endorsements. His earning power doesn’t come close to swimmers like James Magnussen and Eamon Sullivan, even though the two household names have never won Olympic gold.
“I would estimate that Australia’s top Olympians like Sally Pearson and James Magnussen earn 20 times as much in endorsements than Matt Cowdrey and possibly much more,” says Tony Box, Head of International Talent at sports management agency Elite Sports Properties (ESP)
“Matt only has one partner in Uncle Toby’s, who came on fairly recently. It has always been a challenge to find commercial partners for our elite athletes with disabilities.”
But that might be changing.
The disappointing performance of our swimmers at the London Olympics, combined with the current squabbles in the sport, mean a door of opportunity could be opening for Paralympic athletes – especially those with a gift for public speaking.
“I would say rightly or wrongly that corporate Australia hasn’t really embraced our Olympic results,” Tony Box says.
“With the positive feel that came out of the London Paralympics, I think our Paralympians are probably being considered more than they have been in the past and we’re hopeful of some opportunities going forward.
Public speaking engagements for top sports people are generally in the $2k to $5k range for a keynote presentation. According to Tony Box, Matt Cowdrey wows them every time he takes the stage.
“Paralympians like Matt have such compelling stories to tell and Matt is a fantastic speaker. People always give us such great feedback afterwards.”
The challenge now for team Cowdrey is to raise his earning capacity to the point where he commits to the Rio Paralympics.
The Adelaide Law Student and mad Crows fan will race at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, where events are interspersed between able-bodied events.
After that, Tony Box will look at ways to get Matt Cowdrey to Rio.
“For us, it’s finding two or three other corporate partners if we can who are willing to share the journey with him.”