um .... of course there is.
Sam Hill to ride for Specialized in 2009
- Thread starter syc7090
- Start date
maybe you weren't around in the 90's?
Dude, you know all 15 (maybe 20) people on this site that were racing DH in the 90's. I'm hoping that was a rhetorical question...
I was working a full time job and going to college all through in the early 90's, so if by "around" you mean caring what Pro DH racers were making, then no I wasn't "around".
I said 'likely' so please, if you know for a fact then just say who the biggest contract was or No, Sam's new contract is not the biggest and be done with it.
There are legal rulings out on the net that state Steve Peat's salary in his last year with GT.....it was hefty......i don't want to say on RM what is was but it is part of the public legal record.....
I highly doubt Sam Hill is anywhere close to that number.....this last contract is when he became 2x world champ.....he should be getting serious coin in his next contract, if not he needs a new manager.....
bwahahahahahah... I guess you don't remember the glory days when companies like mountain dew and chevy were in the mix. There was an XC rider for GT that had marginal results and got 125k a year when he signed. He never did sh!t on the WC, but he was smart with his money and retired. Can't remember his damn name.
Not everyone likes Michael Bolton? Blasphemy! What planet are you from?
Raul Alcala, he was a super fast roadie in the late 80's and early 90's and GT gave him a fat contract to race mtb at the end of his career. He was so far off the back i'm not sure he even finished out the season.
I did a business report back in the early 90's for my business class on Cannondales payout to its riders.
$2+ million went out to its top 3 riders. Miss G. and Tinker were 2 of those riders. Cant remember the third (maybe Brain Lopes). Thats about $680k+ each.
Another $1.2 million went out to the rest of the 5 riders and the crew for the team.
I am sure Brian Lopes has had one of the largest paid out contacts of all time, but was back in the days when car sponsors were in the sport.
$2+ million went out to its top 3 riders. Miss G. and Tinker were 2 of those riders. Cant remember the third (maybe Brain Lopes). Thats about $680k+ each.
Another $1.2 million went out to the rest of the 5 riders and the crew for the team.
I am sure Brian Lopes has had one of the largest paid out contacts of all time, but was back in the days when car sponsors were in the sport.
I prefer the personal touch you can only get with hired goons.
I have nothing good to say. I just want this thread to break records in length.
so who would the king of single season DH paychecks be?
No idea, but if I had 3 guesses they'd be Tomac, Palmer, and Lopes
You know the same thing I know....
Yeah didn't Palmer have a million dollar contract for 3 years with specialized?
speaking of tomes (totally random segway) found this rad vintage pic. team 7-11 kit / drop-bar yeti / hairnet / long hair / oakley blades & beer in hand. stupendously classic:
Raw talent with a jockstrap on its head.
that pic is beyond badass.
Specialized will jump at the chance to hire Hill as he will help sell Bikes simple
.. and this type of broadcasting will really help the sport of Downhill which is still in its infancy. I think Specialized has realized that although DH is a fringe sport, being involved in it and using Sam Hill, they can really market all their other Mountain bikes range.
In my opinion by sponsoring a rider like Hill they will easily recoup their sponsoring cash as they have distribution all over the world and have a range of mountain bikes to capitalise on too.
Specialized started in MTB in the first place they really should have a stronger presence in the DH worldcup.
I dont think the freeriding riders they sponsor like berrecloth etc.. does the job. I think its easier to market bikes though DH than Freeride Hucking stuff as I think that part of the sports demographic is much smaller (younger). I think marketing though DH is easier for XC people to relate to than the crankworz stuff.......
I just think if I was MD I would market through DH more, and I would hire Hill to market through, more MTB'rs can identify with DH. I feel Freeride /Crankworx "extreme" stuff is harder for most people who ride MTB cycle, to identify with. (also the freeride "extreme stuff " is a bit locked in demographically and alienates older riders)
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I wonder if that helmet would pass current CPSC standards...speaking of tomes (totally random segway) found this rad vintage pic. team 7-11 kit / drop-bar yeti / hairnet / long hair / oakley blades & beer in hand. stupendously classic:
I think it is more a trend away from hucking and back to racing. For a long time, I noticed the trend was away from racing and towards freeriding.
I don't think of Sam Hill as another Lance Armstrong. I think him as just another rider on the Specialized factory team.
It is good pub to have him, but I doubt there will be an increase in Hardrock and Stumpjumper sales if he signs with Specialized.
No but you have to admit. He's the one single person that's gotten people more excited about racing lately. Not the same scale in that doctors aren't rushing out to buy dh bikes but certainly similar.
But if he really is going to specialized, it can only help their image. Given one they've created but they certainly realize there's some racer dollars they're not getting.
It depends on your perspective. For a mountain biking purist like yourself and me, Hill is the most dominate rider in every discipline of cycling (except for Kintner in 4X, but her competition was not as tough as WC Men's DH). My opinion of Iron Horse, who I thought were a 3rd rate bike company, changed dramatically after DW and Sam Hill joined them (and with their departures, going to back to 3rd rate).
But from a marketing standpoint, a picture of Paris Hilton on a Stumpjumper will sell more bikes than Sam Hill (and I know, I showed these pictures to 2 future women bike customers).
It is not a criticism of Sam Hill, but more of mountain biking in the world of sports marketing. We don't exist in the eyes of the general public. Kevin Youklis or Rasheed Wallace is more recognizable than Sam Hill.
My only hope for the next year is that Adam Craig and Jill Kintner will medal at the Olympics. I think there will be some nice pub if that occurs.
Stik, where the hell are you? You know which one got paid the fattest payday of them all. I haven't a clue, but I do know that Peat may have signed a big contract, but dude didn't get paid all of it since GT slammed the doors without paying bonuses, etc when they folded.
I remember being told about Lopes & Peat buying condos at Whistler like it was nothing. The money they could make just renting them out must be retarded.
All this about Sam Hill making Iron Horse is booh crap. Three things made Iron Horse.
1. The loyalty of the Northeast crew to a local company,
2. DW & the other engineers attention to detail on Rennie, Atkinson & Hill's bikes over time (Rennie WON the overall World Cup on a beefed up SGS-a first on flats)
3. They were the only team to have a fully loaded DH team with Rennie, Hill, Atkinson & Graves backed by a video game accesory company with DEEP pockets.
Hill was able to capitalize on all those circumstances to climb the ladder thankfully. Otherwise, he might be on some piece of crap riding into obscurity on an underfunded, poorly designed bike with no consumer base...and had to get a real job.
The opposite happened when Palmer showed up. The brand was there, the bike was there, the loyalty. But the sponsors, dear god, the sponsors TRIPPED over one another to cut checks in hopes of getting on the X Games with him.
I remember being told about Lopes & Peat buying condos at Whistler like it was nothing. The money they could make just renting them out must be retarded.
All this about Sam Hill making Iron Horse is booh crap. Three things made Iron Horse.
1. The loyalty of the Northeast crew to a local company,
2. DW & the other engineers attention to detail on Rennie, Atkinson & Hill's bikes over time (Rennie WON the overall World Cup on a beefed up SGS-a first on flats)
3. They were the only team to have a fully loaded DH team with Rennie, Hill, Atkinson & Graves backed by a video game accesory company with DEEP pockets.
Hill was able to capitalize on all those circumstances to climb the ladder thankfully. Otherwise, he might be on some piece of crap riding into obscurity on an underfunded, poorly designed bike with no consumer base...and had to get a real job.
The opposite happened when Palmer showed up. The brand was there, the bike was there, the loyalty. But the sponsors, dear god, the sponsors TRIPPED over one another to cut checks in hopes of getting on the X Games with him.
I agree in most parts but the quoted part seems a bit like you suggest that if not for IH Hill would be a medicore rider. From what I remember he was a very promicing rider from the begning. Red Bull win in this crazy australian FR competition? Came very prepared and was consistent over the whole trail while some great riders (like CG) missed or were bad on some parts. He'd still find sth as he is a very determined rider and simply knows how to win. Maybe he wouldn't be as big in therms of fame but still he'd on the top.
Come on Butch.
Loyalty gets you nowhere on a sales playing field unless you market it, and in racing a Racer is the only way. Every racing industry relies on the racers face to sell products. You win, the product sells......easy as that.
The Madcatz team were on glorified Big Hits that had decent geo. Iron Horse had little to do with designing those rides.
Sam Hill sold bikes. I'm sure that next years Specialized numbers will back that up. You think he wouldn't have won races on a orange, santa cruz or a giant.
80% rider 20% bike.
You must be kidding if you're saying bikes like the Victory and Sinister is what made Iron Horse.
You must be kidding if you're saying Sam Hill would be "riding into obscurity" without Iron Horse.
I never fully understood IH's split personality, making some of the finest mountain bikes with the industry's top engineer, or their "Randall Scott" f***-the-IBD attitude pushing big box quality bikes.
I just figured there must have been a worker revolt that got some great bikes and sponsor the best riders, and I was hoping it would last as long as possible.
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Been riding in whistler...first time on here in weeks.
This thread is funny.
I mean, very funny.
it was even funnier yeaterday when it was deleted and some moderators said not to bring it up again. I refer to this as the peoples republic of Ridemonkey
Easy bloodhounds. I never said Hill couldn't win without IH. I said if he wasn't on their team, he could've been unlucky enough to get on a crap team and be able to get where he is today. DUH!
And you guys are tards for taking my words out of context. Maybe you want to look at the prior year's SGS DH to see how much of a jump it was in comparison to the previous model. Nothing special...but WAY better than it's predecessor. A lot of things fell into place for alot of people who worked incredibly hard.
One correction. I've been advised Madcatz was not lucrative and pretty underfunded. Again...goes back to alot of hard work by a LOT of people.
And you guys are tards for taking my words out of context. Maybe you want to look at the prior year's SGS DH to see how much of a jump it was in comparison to the previous model. Nothing special...but WAY better than it's predecessor. A lot of things fell into place for alot of people who worked incredibly hard.
One correction. I've been advised Madcatz was not lucrative and pretty underfunded. Again...goes back to alot of hard work by a LOT of people.
Butch, The numbers in the quote below are in the ball park of numbers that I heard first hand out of the mouth of one of said riders. They may be even a little low. The good old days when teams had semi trucks.
It's pretty funny that he is being compared to Armstrong as far as general public recognition. Does the guy even talk?
The guy may just be an introvert. Why do people take that as a bad thing? He may just love riding and not be bothered with the whole "having to be a showman and outspoken just because he's a sponsored rider" thing. You can see the discomfort in his body language and his face whenever he has to do an interview.
Its not that either, I have met him before, and My impression that I got was, He is young, overwelmed with where he is in life, and trying to keep it together when he isnt on the bike. Nice guy, I think he is just trying to figure the world out still myself.