Beer mile breaks new ground as athlete signs industry’s first lucrative contract
A day after setting the beer mile world record, Canadian Lewis Kent signed a shoe and apparel deal with Brooks, the first of its kind.
The deal will pay the beer miler more than what Brooks pays an amateur athlete
The beer mile industry saw its first major sponsorship deal on Wednesday as London, Ont. resident Lewis Kent signed a two-year shoe and apparel deal with Brooks.
According to the report, the deal will pay him more than what Brooks would pay an amateur athlete but less than an Olympian. Kent signed the deal just a day after running the beer mile world record (4:51.9).
Kent could also win additional bonuses from high-profile meets including the upcoming FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships on Dec. 1 in Austin, Texas.
“It’s pretty surreal,” Kent told ESPN on Wednesday. “I’ve always liked to run and drink beer, but I never thought I would be considered world class for doing both.”
Expect that, within the next year, all the top elite runners in the beer mile will be paid by brands to compete with beer they use
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 18, 2015
Could beer milers become professional athletes with lucrative apparel and beer deals in the near future?
Amsterdam beer is the brand that Kent used during his world record performance on Tuesday. Four of the top eight fastest beer mile times have been done with Amsterdam Blonde.
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