How should we know? ..................but Cavan Sullivan comes from a "soccer family" that presumably gets it. Heck, he has a cousin that played for the USMNT and went to the World Cup. His father played professionally. His mother played at a high level in the NCAAs. His grandfather was a long-time coach at Villanova. His uncle played and coaches. His brothers play, and his older brother plays professionally. [Heck, Cavan's current head coach Jim Curtin played for his grandfather at Villanova.] If any player has a support system that understands the sport and can keep him grounded.........its Cavan Sullivan. And he's at one of the best, if not the best, club in the country to support him as a young player. Will he make it or not make it? How the hell should we know? He's a prospect. Same as every other young player of his age in this country. [We talk all the time about how many of the current USMNT group has family in the sport. It's true. Cavan and Quinn Sullivan are the same.]
In the US? I don't know. But companies seem to be vying for the signatures of these supposed "top prospects" around the world. Hell, Nike recently started endorsing a 13 year old female soccer player. U.S. soccer phenom Whitham, 13, youngest to ink Nike NIL deal - ESPN And by the way, Nike's not alone. Adidas singed on a 15 year old girl to a deal. Dexter teen becomes youngest professional female soccer player to sign with adidas (clickondetroit.com) I suspect that having an endorsement deal isn't so unusual, but maybe the size of Cavan's is relative to his peers domestically is. I saw this column on the Gomez family's site about sponsorships for young soccer players. A bunch of different perspectives here, and some things I didn't know. Sponsorships for a young footballer? | #TheGomezway Shoe/gear companies normally try to lock in a young footballer with long term contracts (5 years); these monetary amounts may be great for the first two years of the young footballer’s career but are ridiculously miniscule for subsequent years relative to the players development/trajectory. In the first two years, the money offered is not life-changing but could be significant especially for young domestic (MLS, USL) footballer’s annual earnings. Most of the deals involve a guaranteed set dollar amount in gear for the footballer (and the family) with little to no real money growth in the last years of the contract. Be aware. Similarly, be careful of fostering an environment where professional players start playing exclusively for the “free brand-name merchandise” bragging rights. ..................... Be aware that some agents use endorsement deals as a mechanisms to bait you in and secure commitments from players and families to sign with their agency. Some of these sponsorship contracts are exclusively intended to reel you in, lock you in for the duration of the sponsorship at a very basic level of revenue.
No, I mean the top prospects you're referring to in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, etc. For example, was Endrick getting similar deals at the same age? I really don't know, so I'm asking. Meanwhile with Sullivan I see this: On the sponsorship front, he’s an ambassador for Adidas and Raising Cane’s, a fast-food chicken fingers restaurant chain. And now, Sullivan will become an ambassador for Aéropostale as well. Maybe I'm not paying close enough attention, but it's hard for me to believe these kinds of scenarios are as commonplace as you're making them out to be.
Not many. The pursuit of Cavan was quite similar to the pursuit of Endrick, and Paez. There aren't a gazillion of these guys around, Cavan's if not the most well thought of prospect from his birth year, he's damn near the top, regardless of what country you're talking about. The idea that he's just a whatev compared to what Brazil and Argentina pump out is bull----. He's considered an elite prospect around the world because he's considered an elite prospect, he's not one of a gazillion, he's at the top or just a step or two below the top of the various prospects born in 2009, period. That's reality. Will he hit as a professional in the way the very best in the world have through their age 20 years? Time will tell, but in terms of where he's been at at age 12, 13, 14 and now 15, he's at the top or just a step or two below the top of the pyramid for 2009's.
No idea on all this. Endrik signed a New Balance deal as a 17 year old, but I don't know if he had a deal before that. That was while he was still with Palmeiras, but already sold to Real Madrid. I do think part of this is these brands are desperate to be the ones that sign the "next big American star." Even Aéropostale wants in. I think a lot of it has to do with an anticipated explosion of interest post WC26. Christian Pulisic is racking up the endorsements and sponsorships. I suspect that as WC26 starts approaching, we're going to be inundated with Pulisic commercials. Puma, Chipotle, Hershey's, Gatorade, EA Sports, and on and on. Since Pulisic is with Puma....................(and its no coincidence AC Milan is Puma).....................the other brands want to find their guy too. Sullivan is just one long-term possibility. Puma has started becoming agressive in the market.
I would say that now that the NCAA has relented and introduced NIL..... it's going to happen a lot in the coming years for High School Football and Basketball players. Hell, it was already happening just no one talked about it publicly because it could cost the kids a scholarship, and to some it could cause even worse harm to their college alma mater (NCAA sanctions ).
I don't know if comparing the women's and boys sides of soccer is a good idea. I don't know much about the women side but I have yet to hear about anyone who had the hype like Cavan have.
9 year old football player signed an NIL deal with a sports agency. California 9-year-old signs six-figure NIL deal (ktla.com) THAT seems like the Wild West............................ Anyway, I think what the thread is realizing is that a shoe deal isn't that unusual. (Which the Gomez column indicates may not be more than just getting free shoes, etc. We don't know.). The Aeropostale one is unusual. That almost seems like a modeling deal. That's like................totally different to me. Maybe this is being naive, but I don't think your typical Aeropostale customer cares about USYNTs. It's odd. According to the stories, he's the first athlete that Aeropostale has ever signed an endorsement deal with. Its almost like this expectation that he's going to be a high-profile teen heartthrob in the coming years. Aeropostale customers are young adults and teenagers. 14-17 years old apparently. That's who their marketing is directed at. So this is just one sign of many that brands and companies are looking at an explosion in the soccer market in North America. And signing these younger guys now in anticipation that they'll be stars of the future.
It's naive to question whether young teenage prodigies in South America get endorsement deals. Of course they do. The deals might not be from Aeropostale and Prada, but that is more about the overall difference in markets and cultures at play than it is about the player and how he is treated. Vinicius Jr. debuted for Flamengo at 16. Do people really think he wasn't a huge deal with all sorts of attention/distractions/opportunities/people trying to get a piece of him during the years leading up to that? I think it's safe to say that the circus around him was magnitudes crazier than what Cavan is facing. According to his Wiki page, it seems that at some point very early in his career (he started at Flamengo when he was 6), "he started to receive financial aid from Flamengo as well as aid from entrepreneurs." Do we think those "entrepreneurs" were just doing this out of the goodness of their heart? In England, footballers are bought and sold at 9-10 years old. It's just a completely different world, and to suggest that what Cavan is experiencing is more intense or less wholesome is incredibly naive as to what is happening in other parts of the world and also naive as to the ramifications of soccer actually becoming a big deal in the US. There isn't much use in trying to shelter him. The best approach is to mentor and guide him, which hopefully his family and the Union are in good position to do.
It would be interesting to find out that is what his family is doing so that by the time he's on his own he has some experience dealing with it.
Also, what is Man City doing? Since MLS doesn't know how to develop an elite or world-class player. I do wonder what is Man City telling Philly on how to guide him. Same with Christian McFarlane
Aeropostale just has weird marketing across the board. They still sponsor the Big East and like a bunch / every Big East team -- is Aeropostale and college basketball a good mix? Are they privately owned and the owner is just a big sports fan? I see their ads on local broadcasts on Georgetown Basketball and wonder ... who do they think is at the game?
From everything I've seen......................that family is 100% soccer gym rats. Like total soccer focus. I'm not worried about it. There aren't many players in a better position in this regard. Christian Pulisic left for Europe at 16, which is probably what Sullivan will do. [We'll see on that.] And Pulisic wasn't associated with an academy as good as Philly's. In fact, he spent much of his time at Bradenton, so his development was put into the hands of Richie Williams!!! Am I the only one that remembers the 2015 U17 national team with Pulisic, Adams, Wright, Zendejas, Vazquez, de la Torre and friends really struggling thru the CONCACAF Championships?
The only way I see Cavan leaving Philly at the age of 16 is if he starts for them and does pretty good.
One of the things in the Athletic article about French coaching and the US was a quote from one of their youth coaches about it being more important in terms of how many guys they developed for the senior team as opposed to how the youth teams themselves did in tournaments.