In the series “The Impact of Gold,” we examined the impact of the Dutch men’s and women’s Olympic titles in recent weeks, including financially. In this final installment: for most Dutch internationals, after their gold medal, it is a challenge to keep the cash register ringing.
‘The Netherlands is a difficult country for field hockey internationals to make a lot of money,’ Willem Boot, SCHC’s Top Hockey board member, concluded in one of the episodes of the series. He was referring to former British goalkeeper Maddie Hinch, who managed to reap financial rewards from her gold medal. ‘Apart from her salary at the club, it really was a considerable amount. More than a modal annual salary.’ For most Dutch internationals, however, the reality is very different.
Of course, several Olympic champions of Paris made a killing this winter with their participation in the Hockey India League. Jip Janssen was the Dutchman who earned the most. A sum of nearly 59,000 euros was laid out for him. Among the women, the most money went to Yibbi Jansen, who pocketed 32,000 euros. The prize money from the Olympics was also a welcome addition: each Olympian of Orange received 11,000 euros from NOC*NSF. All amounts mentioned are gross.
But when you leave out the lucrative Hockey India League, the situation for most Dutch internationals is a very different story. The money is not there for the taking – let alone the big money.
Both the men and women won Olympic gold in Paris. Photo: Willem Vernes
Sponsors are not lining up en masse for most field hockey players
First, a gold medal does not easily lead to a salary increase at the club. At many clubs, salaries are determined by the number of international matches or international tournaments a player has played. So not by the prizes he or she has won with the Dutch national team. Moreover, top field hockey still has no sustainable revenue model. There is no transfer income, no television money and ticket sales are rare. Players who want to reap financial rewards after their gold medal do not have to turn to their club, but must seek their opportunities elsewhere. For example, with sponsors.
But the reality is: sponsors are not lining up en masse for most Orange Olympians. Field hockey is a smaller sport in the Netherlands than soccer, for example, which means its commercial impact is also more limited. Moreover, no field hockey player comes close to the reach of popular Dutch sports influencers, such as speed skater Jutta Leerdam (five million followers on Instagram), athlete Lieke Klaver (970,000 followers) and speed skater Suzanne Schulting (929,000 followers).
Still, there are certainly opportunities for the Dutch Olympic champions to earn a nice extra. How? By taking the helm themselves, networking purposefully and heading in the right direction on social media.
One of the internationals steadily building a commercial empire is Yibbi Jansen. During the Olympics, she saw her number of Instagram followers double, to nearly 100,000, the highest number of any current Dutch international. When she approached her current management agency, Double M, less than a year ago, she expressed a desire to commit to a natural cosmetics brand. Recently, her purposeful approach was rewarded. Jansen is now the shining face of Celenes by Sweden’s marketing campaign. Posters of her hang in bus shelters.
Jansen is the shining face of the marketing campaign of Celenes by Sweden, a relatively new cosmetics brand.
Most of the gold medalists eventually stop giving presentations again. Only a small proportion make it. Marc Lammers
But for the vast majority of internationals, such deals are not readily within reach. As many as 26 of the 35 field hockey players who went home with a gold medal after Paris have fewer than 20,000 followers on Instagram. Seven of them have less than 6,000 followers. Sponsored content appears with them only sporadically. On LinkPizza, a digital marketplace where influencers can “rent” themselves out to advertisers, goalkeeper Josine Koning (8500 followers), for example, offers sponsored posts for up to 250 euros per post.
Another way to earn a little extra is by giving presentations in the business world. Among others, striker Thijs van Dam secured quite a few bookings after the Olympics. Two months ago he published on his LinkedIn that he had already shared his road to Olympic gold with four different companies and organizations, including ING and the municipality of Wassenaar. He can be booked through the website of the booking agency DeSpreker.nl, among others, which lists a rate indication from 1250 to 2000 euros.
To succeed in the lecture circuit, explained former national team coach Marc Lammers (rate indication: 2,500 to 5,000 euros) in the series, your story must be broader than just a review of the Olympics. Companies not only want to hear the story behind Olympic gold, but also to learn how to harness that same mental and physical resilience in their own working environment. Lammers: “The majority of gold medalists eventually stop giving presentations again. Only a small portion make it.’
Thijs van Dam shared his experiences during the Wassenaar municipality’s theme evening.
The income from clinics is a welcome addition, but does not replace a full salary Marlies Ezechiels of management agency Athletes United.
Finally, Orange Olympians earn some extra income by giving clinics. For example, Jip Janssen founded the Jip Janssen Sleep Academy: a series of training sessions in which young players learn to perfect their penalty corner. For a block of eight training sessions at AMHC FIT, on Wednesday afternoons, participants paid 565 euros. There was room for a maximum of 20 children per session.
‘The income from clinics is a welcome addition, but does not replace a full salary,’ concluded Marlies Ezechiels, manager of several Dutch internationals. ‘The Olympic gold of our athletes increases interest in their clinics, but it does not directly lead to a doubling of requests.’
In short: for most Dutch internationals, keeping the cash register ringing after their gold medal is a challenge. But with some creativity and by targeted networking, they can make quite a nice penny. Although opportunities in the field hockey world generally remain relatively limited.
by Hockey.nl
