"Ye Qin, I can't understand why you refuse this, the price given by the other party is very high."

Just after the National Day holiday, in a conference room of the National Training General Administration, Max Essenbaard frowned, looking at an endorsement contract in his hand, with a deep puzzled look on his face.

This is a high-end endorsement contract for a well-known Japanese car brand, and it took a lot of effort to get him Max Essenbad and his entire team of agents.

But now the most important part of it is that Ye Qin's side can't pass at all, and it has been a full week since Ye Qin ended the Shenghai Grand Prix, and the two sides can't be coordinated.

"Isn't there any other choice?" Ye Qin looked at Max Essenbad and asked in a low voice.

"Absolutely." Max Essenbaard furrowed his brows and laughed, "You're a world flyer now, a great athlete who won the men's 100m and 200m titles at the World Championships, oh yes, you're also a silver medalist in the 400m, and now there's a whole bunch of business giants waving money outside the door, waiting for your favor." ”

In 2007, after Max Essenbad signed an agent contract with Yechin, except for a few small second-level endorsements, he did not immediately continue to look for new business partners for Yechin.

But with the emergence of Ye Qin's results in international competitions in 07, one after another commercial endorsements have been looking for the door, since the beginning of 2007, there has been an endless stream, so much so that he is a little dazzled by his agent.

High-end brands alone include Japan's Toyota, Honda's two giant car giants, South Korea's Samsung's electronic products, the United States is Coca-Cola, GM's Chevrolet series, Germany's Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, etc., luxury goods have IWC, Longines and Omega watches, clothing brands and daily brands are countless.

These are still international, if you want to add China's domestic ones, then this list can almost be typed on A4 paper for several pages.

Max-Essenbad also discovered for the first time that there are many powerful companies in China, from daily necessities to beverages, almost all kinds of advertising endorsements are coming. The price offered was not lower than some of the companies he had seen abroad, and there were a large number of them, large and small, and it took a lot of time to select.

As he gained a deeper understanding of the Chinese market, he felt more and more that Ye Qin's commercial value was even greater than he thought, and that in a country with a population of more than one billion, there are only three or four top sports stars at present, and it can be said that there is enough space to carry it.

Max Essenbaard is an old man in the sports industry, and he has long understood that as a professional athlete, track and field athletes are naturally limited compared to ball players such as basketball and football.

One of the main reasons is that track and field has never been as commercialized as ball sports, and top athletes in big ball sports such as football, basketball, and rugby have annual salaries starting at tens of millions of dollars.

The salary of track and field athletes is very meager compared to it, and in some top competitions, even the IAAF Golden League's million-dollar grand prize, not to mention that it is ultimately shared by multiple athletes, but the amount of prize money is very different from the prize money of tens of millions such as tennis racing.

Of course, compared to more than dozens of high-intensity competitions a year such as football and basketball, the competition in track and field is certainly not so intense.

This is not to say that track and field athletes are less strenuous than other athletes, but the top athletes, basically in order to maintain their fitness, basically need to maintain a high level of training throughout the season. This is especially true during the growth phase.

It's just that in the lack of time for the big competition, the exposure of track and field competitions is very low, and only the IAAF World Tour can barely be considered to have a certain influence.

However, in major years such as the World Championships and the Olympic Games, the popularity of athletics is still very high. All over the world, the fame of the World Flyer is no less than that of other sports stars.

The income of athletes at the top of the pyramid is also astronomical.

Since signing a commercial endorsement with Max Essenbad, Yechin's income this year has exceeded the various incomes of all his previous competitions combined, and it is several times more.

On the one hand, there is the reason why his performance continues to improve, breaking the 10-second barrier and sweeping three Asian records, and on the other hand, there is also the ability to move from top agents.

Not to mention anything else, but after the World Championships, Adidas paid an additional more than $5 million in endorsement fees, and in order to be a long-term sponsor of Yechin's sports brand, it has signed a sponsorship fee of no less than $10 million per year in the future.

That's more than the $2.8 million a year Jax Thelin paid him after he won the Olympics in 2004.

Of course, if Yechin can win the Olympic title or break the world record, the cost will continue to rise.

Volkswagen has also issued a $2 million annual commercial contract, and has been upgraded from a second-level endorsement to a first-level endorsement, which has not yet been implemented. The focus of today's conversation between Max Essenbad and Yechin is here, Japan's giant in the automotive industry, who gives endorsement fees higher than Volkswagen, directly is a top-level contract, and will continue to increase in the future.

Max Essenbaard, on the female athletes' side, now holds in her hands the top tennis superstar, Sharapova, who was named the "most beautiful athlete" in 2006 and has topped the list of the richest female athletes.

And Yechin, Max Essenbaard wants to push him to the list of male athletes who are richest in terms of income, and they dare not say that they are at the top of the list, but there is still a chance to fight for a top 10 score.

Athletics is naturally at a disadvantage compared to other sports, but Max Essenbad's biggest confidence comes from the huge market of China.

In recent years, China's economy has developed rapidly, and Ye Qin is backed by such a market with unlimited potential, and it can be said that the business potential is incomparable.

According to the market research he did specifically for Liu Yangyu, the annual income is not low in the world, and there is also the NBA star Da Yao, a very important part of the annual income also comes from the huge market of China.

This time, the commercial contract endorsement sent by the Japanese side is a very good opportunity in Max Essenbad's opinion, so he still can't understand Ye Chin's refusal. The Chinese market, the East Asian market, this is an important factor for him to take a fancy to Ye Chin.

Ye Qin is actually a little vague about his current income. According to the exchange of dollars and RMB, he is now worth more than 100 million.

And this number is still increasing, and he now feels that his income is a series of numbers, leaving him to think about the issue of appreciation and preservation.

For a peasant boy who couldn't even afford sneakers, he has always felt a little dreamy about the changes in his income in recent years.

Since the first 200m championship at the World Championships in '05, his income has increased beyond his imagination, and if he wasn't in that position, he probably wouldn't have thought that money could sometimes be so easy to make.

This year, in 2007, his income has soared along with his performance in the field, and he himself is a little dumbfounded.

For Ye Qin now, it seems that he is retired now, and he does not have to work at all to live comfortably. He was no longer the poor teenager who was completely in need of competing for financial rewards.

With a choice, he didn't want to accept what Max Essenbaard said about the endorsement of Japanese companies.

He now also has a certain understanding of commercial endorsements, and the other party can give such a high price, simply put, he must hope to use his fame to obtain greater returns in China.

From childhood to adulthood, in terms of national complex, he is not very able to accept this. Domestic sports athletes, whether it is Da Yao or Liu Yangyu, basically avoid the endorsement of Japanese companies.

So far, he has learned that one of the two who has received endorsements from the Japanese side is the former diving queen, and the other is the racket endorsed by the badminton god.

For others, Ye Qin has no position to blame, but Da Yao and Liu Yangyu are leading by example, if he can, he naturally doesn't want to be stained in this regard.

Besides, there has always been such a thing as a national plot.

After listening to Yechin briefly explain the situation, Max Essenbad nodded, indicating that he understood, and did not continue to delve into this topic.

From the perspective of a top broker, he is only from a business point of view, and he also understands that Ye Qin's endorsement of Japanese companies may cause him to earn money in China.

Which one is the basic handicap, it is obvious.

"I don't know if you'll be nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards next year, but if you can win this award, some commercial contracts may go further."

Eschewing questions about the Japanese side's endorsement, Max Essenbad laughed and talked about next year's Laureus World Sports Awards.

"I haven't thought about this." Ye Qin leaned back on the chair in the conference room, shook his head and smiled.

The Laureus World Sports Awards, as he knows, were founded in 2000 by two major companies, Daimler and Richemont, and supported by global partners Mercedes-Benz and IC. It is one of the most influential awards in the world of sports, and it is currently the only global sports award ceremony.

For athletes, this is the Oscars of sports.

In China, Ye Qin knows that Da Yao and Liu Yangyu have won Newcomer of the Year once, and the other winners are all sports superstars in the international sports world.

Nominated for the Laureus Sports Award this year, Asafavir shined on the athletics world in 2006 and was virtually unbeaten all but one race in the year. The IAAF Golden League million-dollar winner has tied his own world record twice, which is amazing enough in addition to the lack of a major championship. But he, along with Alonso, Cannavaro, Schumacher, Tiger Woods and others, all lost to Federer.

"There's still a chance." Max Essenbaard smiled, "If you can win the endorsement of IWC, maybe you have a good chance." ”

As the main commercial partner of the Laureus Awards, IWC is naturally capable of operating, but of course it is not possible if the results have been achieved to that extent.

As the first Asian men's 100m and 200m world champions, his influence is undoubted. This is representative.

In Max Eschenbard's view, Yechin has a high probability of winning the Laureus Sports Award for Best Male Athlete, and if he wins the men's 400m at the World Championships, then the possibility of winning the award is even greater, and now, it is not too easy to say.

"By the way, have you decided on a time to go?"

Max-Essenbaard seemed to have something in mind, and suddenly opened his mouth and asked Yechin, "There is a business event in the United States next month that you need to attend. ”

"It's confirmed, let's leave at the end of this month." Ye Qin recalled the time of the previous notice and nodded in reply.

"Haha, then I'll be waiting for you in the United States." Max Essenbaard nodded with a smile, and then said, "I originally suggested that you be separated from your teammates, but due to the particularity of track and field athletes, I won't mention this suggestion, and when you get to IMG Academy, I will arrange everything for you." ”

Saying this, Max Essenbaard's face smiled even more, and he looked at Ye Qin very seriously, "I have brought many sports stars, all races and countries.

But let's be honest, Yechin. Compared to them, you can say that I have the most peace of mind. Your mechanics make it almost impossible for me to worry about the unexpected, and there's no mess for me to wipe your ass. I am only responsible for one simple thing, which is to negotiate a contract with you and wait for the money to be collected. ”

This is Max Essenbad's heartfelt words, as Yechin's agent, the agent team he set up for Yechin almost usually has nothing to do, and most of Yechin's work is covered by the national track and field team, collective action.

All they need is some assistance with business activities, and their ordinary life is simple, which can be said to be extremely easy compared to other professional athletes.

"I know that." Ye Qin smiled, "But Max, you have facilitated a lot of cooperation between the track and field team and IMG Academy, which is very important to improve our overall strength. ”

This year's track and field team's winter training venue was not anywhere else, but chose to go to the IMG Academy in the United States, and it was Max Essenbard who was the matchmaker.

MG Academy is located in Bradenton, Florida, USA, and is the world's largest and most advanced multi-sport education institution.

Max Essenbad, vice president of the American International Management Group, is the facilitator of the cooperation between the Chinese track and field team and the IMG Academy.

IMG's work covers all aspects of the sports industry: from top-tier sporting events, to event sponsorship, celebrity client representation, and world-class sports training academies, as well as advising many of the world's leading sports governing bodies, sporting events and cultural organisations.

In China, CCTV and IMG have cooperated to establish CCTV IMG, which plays a key role in promoting local sports events and introducing China's local sports events and sports culture to the world.

For the national track and field team, this is an important part of the "going out" training before the Olympic Games, which is almost non-existent in the previous Chinese team, even if Yang Yao went to the United States to study and train, it was only four athletes, compared to this large-scale training in the United States, it is far from a level.

The members of the Chinese track and field team who went to IMG Academy to participate in the training this time include members of the Chinese men's relay team, as well as about 20 athletes from the men's and women's teams such as long jump, shot put, hammer throw, etc.

He was accompanied by two head coaches, Yuan Guohua and Li Qi, as well as seven or eight staff members such as Chen Zhongzhou, Zhuang Wei and the team doctor, who escorted the team and made it a rare precedent for the track and field team to train abroad.