NDA, go away
This is my diatribe against NDAs. The NDA (aka Non Disclosure Agreement) is a legally binding contract that is used to protect confidential information. In present day professional running contracts they are frequently required. On the surface this seems odd when compared to other modernized and professional sports. We know how much other sports stars are earning in their annual contracts. I’m speaking in regards to professional trail running contracts. It is certainly a niche, but it is the area I am most familiar with at this point in time. Also this is just my opinion and I have never signed a professional running contract so maybe I’m the clueless one, but whatever.
The inspiration to write this came after Altra’s grand announcement of Tara Dowers “Record Breaking Deal.” Let me make one thing clear, I am not attacking Tara or her representation, they have done their due diligence and she truly deserves a quality contract. The problem I have is with Altra calling their own deal huge and record breaking while not releasing the actual financial details. If you’re going to claim something as groundbreaking you need to provide tangible facts so I can decide for myself. I don’t listen to the landlord who tells me his rental unit is light filled and spacious. No, I go to that apartment and I decide for myself. I don’t believe the company that is offering me a competitive wage. No, I specifically ask them what the wage is and what benefits they are offering me so I can decide for myself. You don’t get to toot your own horn about a shrouded contract.
In my opinion NDAs are currently limiting the ability for athletes to negotiate a fair contract. Your ability to negotiate is only as good as the comparable information you have. For years elite trail runners were only receiving travel funds and gear and being deemed “professional athletes.” NDAs allowed these companies to hide their skimpy wage offerings, but from the outside it seems like they were supporting the sport and the top athletes. To me it NDAs appear to be in the interest of the companies, but not in the interest of the athlete.
I truly believe these NDAs will not be around forever. It’ll take one or two brands to move against the norms and start openly disclosing what they are paying their athletes. This is an incredible marketing opportunity. One company gets to be the leader in contract openness within trail running. That’s a once in a lifetime industry marketing opportunity. I certainly think this will come from a smaller brand. Large corporations will take too long to pivot their policies on something like this.
The really ballsy answer? Wouldn’t it be fun if all professional trail runners decided to release their contract details on a certain date!? They can sue and fire all of them, right? Right!? I would assume they wouldn’t be suing anyone over a $10,000 contract.
At the end of the day I only hide things that I’m embarrassed about, like that one time when I… uh wait nevermind. As we demand more from corporations with regards to sustainability and employee rights I think we should also be demanding more openness from them. It’s time to progress the professionalization of trail running. It’s time to throw out the NDAs.
