Christopher Royster, left, and JT Smith, athletes participating in the unsponsored Bandit Running project, at the 2024 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
Courtesy: Bandit Running
There's an army of unsponsored athletes turning heads at this year's U.S. Olympic track and field trials, decked out in all-black, logo-less gear.
The 35 athletes are supported by apparel company Bandit Running's No Sponsorship Project, an effort to challenge the standard sponsorship model for professional athletes and boost emerging competitors.
Track and field athletes without sponsors typically buy their own apparel with major brand emblems, effectively giving them free advertising. Bandit Running, by contrast, offers Olympic hopefuls all-black uniforms and warm-up gear, along with short-term sponsorship deals.
Bandit co-founder Tim West said the company is offering at least 35 two-week deals for unsponsored runners at the trials, the gateway for a U.S. Olympian to the games held every four years. The offers consist of unbranded clothing, a platform, and cash to cover expenses. Last year, Bandit partnered with nine athletes.
“We're really hoping for a new sponsorship model where brands take a healthy portion of their budget and apply it to the amateur and sub-elite type of athlete to help grow the sport. I think when you lift up, you hit the bottom, everything pushes up,” West told CNBC.
Bandit's deals have a built-in termination clause, West said, allowing for an easy exit for athletes who receive a traditional sponsorship offer during testing.
Given the high prices associated with competition, West said unsponsored athletes are “investing in themselves,” which presents an opportunity for brands to step in and help.
Additionally, the all-black, logo-less uniforms help draw attention to which athletes might be available to strike a long-term deal.
Among them is 400-meter runner Courtney Okolo.
After winning a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and being sponsored by Nike Okolo, 30, has been involved with the Unsponsored Project for four years. She says getting support while competing without a sponsor is difficult, but Bandit's initiative makes her feel like she's not doing it all alone.
Courtney Okolo, an athlete participating in the non-sponsored Bandit Running project, at the 2024 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
Courtesy: Running Bandit
When you factor in training costs, flights to Eugene, Oregon, for trials, booking a hotel and buying competition clothing, Okolo says even showing up to compete is expensive. Although she added that she has been able to keep up her pace with money acquired over four years through her previous sponsorship, only a few athletes in the sport have such partnerships.
“I know that for many athletes it is very difficult,” Okolo said. “They could continue running well, but financially they can't do it because training and all that takes up a lot of their time. It's difficult to have another full-time career to support yourself financially, train and be the best athlete. So sometimes you have to choose one something or another, and that can be very difficult.
Since graduating from college, Brandee Johnson, 26, has worked two jobs and a side job while training for hours a day to make her Olympic dreams come true. Johnson is an unsponsored track athlete who qualified for this year's Olympic trials.
Johnson said he joined the Unsponsored Project as an alternative avenue to achieve his goal, while also linking his name to something that was having a positive impact on people's lives.
“It helps me feel more comfortable, take a deep breath and say, 'OK, I can do this and I have everything I need to be successful,'” Johnson said.
