Do you think that most athlete are loyal towards their sponsers or their just in for the free stuff. In the past few years Iv’e seen many people change sponser every year or so and most of the cases its because they have more with a different sponser. I also know that only a few of them work very hard to promote their sponsor. What do you think?
That’s what they call a Velcro athlete. They change sponsors so often they don’t bother to sew the patches on. Some triathletes, like Wendy Ingrham, stayed with their sponsors for years while others change every season or every better deal. Our tri club has tried to build relationships with sponsors and we’ve managed to keep the same ones for several years. I guess it just depends on what you are looking to get out of the sponsorship.
Gary Mc
as an AG point of view i don’t think top pros has to talk about their gear at all. Even with the rebadged equipment, think about it if you see a pro using a rebadged Planet X as Ridley, which one you think he is promoting? 
As for the rookies they might see the local sponsors as “stepping stones” but thats the tool of the trade. There are some really extremes done in pro sports marketing all in NBA, NFL and any other high visibility sports (anything with a TV exposure)
For a triathlete this is way harder, when an NBA star shoots a commertial in 1 day and done but for the triathletes this media does not exist they have to go to each and every expo to reach 200-300 people
Uh, yeah.
By all accounts, pro triathletes make very little money from actually racing and not much more from being sponsored.
On the one hand, yeah, I think it’s tacky to keep switching in search of a better deal since it shows they don’t actually think the product is better and it makes any statements about how good the product is dubious, at best.
On the other hand, a man’s gotta eat and you can’t begrudge someone for trying to make a better living. I’ve switched jobs solely for more money before.
Is it always the athlete’s choice/fault?..
I have been in sponsor/relationships where it was the friendship that kept me in. Good people are good people.