SBNation.com: contract offered Kobayashi did not pay out prizes
Amy K. Nelson has an article for SBNation.com to accompany yesterday’s interview of Kobayashi which has more information about the contract Takeru Kobayashi rejected in 2010:
[George] Shay [sic] contends that they offered Kobayashi a contract of over $100,000 that would cover four events in 2010, and that, win or lose at Nathan’s, Kobayashi would walk away with a guaranteed $25,000, in essence a flat appearance fee. Any prize monies awarded by the holder of the event would be recouped by MLE.
Kobayashi, wanting more freedom, asked that he only be offered a contract for Nathan’s contest, and forgo the other three events they had written into his contract. MLE countered with $40,000 for both the July 2010 and July 2011 contests at Nathan’s, and mandated he could not compete in any other competitive eating event for that year in the U.S. and Canada. He also could not endorse anything other than what MLE mandated, the lone language mentioning a Pepto Bismal endorsement for $10,000.
Some observations about the rejected contract proposal:
- If Takeru Kobayashi’s previous contracts did not pay out the listed prizes, it would explain his claim made in a TheBigLead.com interview last week that he did not receive the $5,000 awards designated for the Nathan’s runners-up from 2007-2009 along with Rich Shea’s response implying that MLE/Nathan’s did not owe Kobayashi any money.
- The endorsement restriction is much harsher than the limitations for competitors in the four major North American professional sports. NFL/MLB/NBA/NHL athletes are free to endorse the products they want other than alcohol and gambling and that restriction was agreed to in a collective bargaining process.
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Anonymous said
July 4, 2012 @ 10:15 am
Perhaps time is running out for Kobayashi in terms of his three year visa (though it is renewable for another two years). Since he got it on his own without MLE, he must know how it works to have it renewed. It does seem sad overall because from the interview(s) he clearly values his reputation. His inability to speak English and speak for himself means that everything gets viewed through the lens of his manager. He will likely never get a chance to prove even to himself that he is number one because Joey Chestnut is the only person who has ever beaten him in hotdogs or come within his numbers. Crif, last year’s solo contest, none of these really prove what he wants to prove.
Joe Friday said
July 4, 2012 @ 10:49 am
Kobayashi will always be recognized as the first superstar and greatest legend of competitive eating. Even after more than a decade, Joey is the only person who has gotten the better of him. Joey has taken the torch as the greatest competitive eater on the planet. Kobi needs to accept that. Kobi has had his run, and it was one for the ages.
anonymous said
July 4, 2012 @ 10:52 am
This man truly believes the entire planet revolves around every move he makes. There are some sad individuals or shall we refer to them as his “roadies” that need something to latch on to because their own lives have very little meaning. These are the same individuals that cheer him on , join his fanclub and shower him with admiration. He needs that in order to survive or else his appearances are a lost cause. The support of his fans mean more to him than all the $$$ in the world
anonymous said
July 4, 2012 @ 11:03 am
Seems to be more of a misconstrue of words more than anything else. Considering he has no real formal education in Japan and the US. he is quick to point out the negative . Rich Shea is correct. there was never anything in writing that says Kobayashi is owed so and so amt of dollars for finishing 2nd in 07-09. Maybe he has a case for 08.
Anonymous said
July 4, 2012 @ 11:21 am
Who has no formal education in Japan or the US? Kobayashi is a college graduate with a major in economics, he simply cannot speak or understand English anywhere near fluency in spite of studying here and living here. Everyone has different skill sets and abilities, clearly languages are not one of his though he sure as hell can eat. His ideals are still noble but come from a complete mis-understanding of some realities. That is really a shame because he does absolutely have a unique skill, one of the few like Chestnut, Pat B, Janus, Sonya etc. with MLE and a few independents but very few to even begin to come close to Kobayashi.
Steakbellie said (Registered August 11, 2006)
July 5, 2012 @ 12:38 pm
Koby has badmouthed MLE in print that he was never given the $5,000 2nd place prize when he knew all along that he had received $25,000 (which is 2.5X more than the first place prize even) and further he had contractually agreed to it ahead of time. $100,000 for showing up to only FOUR events a year, and he can still eat/promote anything he wants in Japan or even the rest of the world. This sounds MORE than fair to me.
I’ve lost a ton of respect for Koby pulling this stunt with the $5,000 second prize nonsense. I guess its a sign that things arent going so well for him financially now that he has to figure out how to setup and run an actual contest so that he can compete in it. Time has revealed that the Shea’s treated him well, and compensated him richly.
anonymous said
July 5, 2012 @ 12:44 pm
It’s called Greed Steakbellie and Kobayashi is full of it and more. One day in the future he will attempt to command big money and the response will be ” You want WHAT for eating a shitload of hot dogs or anything else” That was many moons ago we dont pay people to eat. Find another hobby. I will tell you what we do have. We have a dishwasher position opening up in the next few days for $10 an hour . Give us a call later in the week “