Grand jury asks for details on Nike’s $ 400 million deal with USA Track and Field


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The federal prosecutor is reportedly investigating Nike’s financial relationship with USA Track & Field.

According to a story published Tuesday by Runner’s World magazine, a grand jury has requested $ 400 million in documents from the national athletics federation regarding Nike’s 23-year corporate sponsorship.

The magazine also reported that the grand jury was looking into the business relationship between the governing body and its chairman, Max Siegel. Among the entities named in a grand jury subpoena is Matchbook Creative, an Indiana-based marketing agency that has worked with USATF on occasion.

Matchbook Creative also has a close relationship with Siegel’s private company Max Siegel Inc., the magazine reported.

The Nike sponsorship at the center of the research was overwhelming in size and scope. In April 2014, the Board of Directors announced that the new sponsorship deal would last until 2040. Although the exact amount was never disclosed, the agreement is estimated to be worth at least $ 400 million.

Nike’s annual payment to USA Track & Field increased from approximately $ 10 million to $ 19 million.

The deal was negotiated by Bevilacqua Helfant Ventures, a New York City-based management consulting firm. She, too, is reportedly named in the federal subpoena. Kurt Bevilacqua and Adam Helfant, both Nike alumni, run the company that is said to earn millions in commissions over several years.

Nike and USATF representatives did not respond to calls or emails from The Oregonian / OregonLive to comment. Siegel didn’t respond either.

Nike is an important financial force in almost every sport. But athletics has always won more than its fair share of the company’s generosity. Nike co-founder Phil Knight was a gifted runner, as were many of the company’s executives.

The size of the deal – and the influence Nike had – caused some discomfort. Critics of the athletics governing body, including a former board member, welcomed news of a federal investigation.

Long-distance running coach and ex-competitive runner Lauren Fleshman said there were too many unanswered questions and too much secrecy.

“It smelled weird from the start,” said Fleshman. “Who benefited from this deal? I would like to know. I always found it most suspicious that nobody wanted to talk about it. “

The investigation could create further disorder in an organization already going through difficult times. Its top executives don’t particularly like each other, many top athletes and coaches struggle for a living, and the sport’s market share is relatively small.

Fleshman left the USATF board in 2020. She was part of a faction of dissidents who wanted to make Vin Lananna, the former track and field coach of the University of Oregon, president of the organization.

The USATF suspended Lananna in 2018, claiming he had several unsustainable conflicts of interest. A company led by Lananna owed nearly $ 2 million according to USATF and was late for Lananna to take on the role of president.

Lananna has since been reinstated.

Fleshman said if the Governing Body were to suspend Lananna, it should suspend Siegel now.

“Is there a plan to suspend Max Siegel during this investigation?” She asked. If they don’t It’s quite a double standard. “

The USATF’s annual meeting is slated to begin Thursday in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

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