US Athlete Nick Symmonds Leaves Nike for Brooks Sponsorship

Nick Symmonds, capsule the five-time USATF 800-meter champion and 2013 world championships silver medalist, has signed an endorsement deal with Brooks after leaving Nike.

The switch comes after the most successful season of Symmonds’ career, the most successful one an American male 800-meter runner had in decades. And it means “I will need to sell my house in Eugene,” says Symmonds, who says his agent, Chris Layne, was told that “I’m not welcome to use the University of Oregon facilities.” Symmonds had been a member of the Nike-sponsored Oregon Track Club since becoming a professional runner in 2006.

“For the goals that I’ve set for myself on and off the track, I think that Brooks is going to be a better fit,” says Symmonds, who flew to Seattle on New Year’s Day to sign his deal at Brooks’ corporate headquarters. Although he emphasized that he “truly appreciated” what Nike had done for him for seven years, he stated, “just for the immediate goals and the long-term goals, Nike and I were no longer a good fit together.”

Symmonds’ track goals include a possible world indoor championship in the 800 this winter in Poland and appearances in the 800 and 1500 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. But matters less specifically athletic in nature seemed to influence his move to Brooks.

Moreover, he says, “Brooks will allow me to continue to court other sponsors.” Symmonds already has relationships with the Idaho-based wellness company Melaleuca and with Hansons Dodge Creative, a marketing firm that won an auction to rent temporary tattoo space on his shoulder. The arrangement with Brooks “opens up an opportunity to go after Garmin or Oakley or something like that.”

“I would have come off as a little bit hypocritical if I said that we need to fight for the athlete’s rights to be able to market themselves and operate as independent contractors and then I would go sign a Nike contract that basically completely crippled my ability to do that,” says Symmonds. “That’s why I’m putting my money where my mouth is and I’m signing with Brooks. I truly believe that they are the company to go with if an athlete wants to be supported and to have a family around.”