Newly retired, Mick Fanning just inked a 10-year deal with longtime sponsor Rip Curl. Photo: Rip Curl
What happens when a professional athlete reaches the end of his or her competitive career? It’s the question that looms in the back of every athlete’s mind that nobody wants to answer. For former NFL players, the answer might be bankruptcy. For everyone else, except maybe Michael Jordan and his cherry Nike shoe deal, the answer seems to be a temporary coaching or commentary gig before slowly fading into irrelevance. Bleak right?
Well, that ain’t the case with surfing. At least not anymore. And Mick Fanning’s shiny new 10-year contract extension with Rip Curl is proof.
In a Wednesday press release, Rip Curl announced Fanning’s post-retirement contract re-up saying in part, “We are pleased to announce a lifetime contract with the most important surfer in our company history, three-time World Champion Mick Fanning.”
That a “ten-year” contract would also be called a “lifetime” contract is confusing, to say the least. Still, after retiring at Bells early last year, that Fanning’s longtime sponsor would stick by him is notable in sport.
“Being a part of Rip Curl has been more than just a sponsorship,” said Fanning. “Having the relationship I have had with the company and the people within it, including the founders, Claw Warbrick and Brian Singer, has been a huge part of my career and the last 20 years of my life. Signing this 10-year deal is another cornerstone in that relationship, and I can’t wait to get out there and get on The Search!”
Speaking for Rip Curl, Neil Ridgway, the company’s Marketing Chairman, explained that after twenty years supporting Fanning, they couldn’t just part ways.
“Mick isn’t just a World Champion surfer,” Ridgway said. “He is the most important surfer in the history of our company. We know that – and he feels it too – so we decided to lock the deal down for life, basically. You don’t walk away from a relationship like that, especially when it’s still working and it’s good fun. Anywhere he goes, we go. He is influential both inside and outside of surfing, and he is gold to the brand. He is one of us.”
So, what will Mick Fanning do post-retirement with the Rip Curl logo still adorning his boards? Live the dream life, apparently, traveling the world and surfing the best waves without the pressure of winning events.
“Mick will spend the next 10 years on The Search, finding breaks in remote countries, chasing empty lineups and perfect waves,” Rip Curl explained. “He will also pursue his personal businesses, MF Softboards as well as Balter Breweries, and will work on and for the environmental causes he finds passion with.”
Even just a few decades ago, the idea of staying relevant at the conclusion of even a highly decorated competitive surfing career was a giant question mark at best. Nearly five years ago, Rob Machado explained to us as much saying in part, “When you finished the Tour, you disappeared. You’re done,” speaking about his own experience being voted off Tour in 2001. The subject is a major theme in the HBO film, Momentum Generation.
Machado was one of the early pioneers of a different way, post-competitive career, and a whole host of pros have benefitted from that shift including, now, Mick Fanning.
White Lightning may not be on tour this year, but we don’t think we’ve seen the last of him. Not even close.
