Post by Admin on Aug 20, 2021 0:46:49 GMT
The most decorated gymnast of all time, Simone Biles, is staging her own post-Tokyo tour, an endeavor usually presented by USA Gymnastics, and she’s taking most of her Olympic teammates with her, with one notable exception: Sunisa Lee.
Biles will headline the Gold Over America Tour, a not-so-subtle GOAT reference, without Team USA’s newest star next to her. Instead of tumbling in arenas across the country and wowing crowds with her talent on the uneven bars, Lee, the women’s all-around champion, will be a freshman on the campus of Auburn University. She’ll compete for the Tigers collegiately—and will still be able to capitalize on her newfound fame thanks to the NCAA’s name, image and likeness (NIL) rule changes.
Biles’ tour management declined to comment on its financial arrangement with the participating athletes, which may have been a lucrative opportunity for Lee. Even without the platform of Biles’ tour, marketers predict Lee is in line for more than a million dollars in endorsement and sponsorship deals while she’s at Auburn in light of her Tokyo success.
The rest of her teammates will join Biles as she embarks on a 35-stop North American tour throughout the fall. Jade Carey, who won gold in floor exercise; MyKayla Skinner, the vault silver medalist; as well as Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum, both of whom won silver in the team competition, will all participate, the tour said. Carey, Chiles and McCallum are also technically incoming freshmen at UCLA, Oregon State and Utah, respectively, though it is unclear how the tour will impact their fall college semesters. They do, however, now have the opportunity to make money on tour this fall and defer enrollment without losing their eligibility.
Together, the group will perform at arenas including Los Angeles’ Staples Center, Denver’s Ball Arena, Minneapolis’ Target Center, Washington’s Capital One Arena, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and Boston’s TD Garden, the final stop on the tour, all of which hold around 20,000 fans.