If the summer of 2024 were anything like the summer of 2021, the last time the U.S. Olympic Trials were held, six-time NCAA champion Parker Valby would have announced a pro deal by now. She’d be racing in the uniform of her shoe sponsor, and she’d likely have a new coach and a new training group.But she’s not—she’s still racing in her University of Florida kit, even though she is done running for Florida and turning pro.
On, for instance, had NIL deals with Harvard’s Maia Ramsden, Notre Dame’s Olivia Markezich, and Stanford’s Ky Robinson. All three were recently added to the On Athletics Club that trains in Boulder, Colorado, under Dathan Ritzenhein. It’s not clear whether On’s NIL contracts included language that gave the company the right of first refusal or whether the company had simply established a friendly relationship with those runners while they were in college.