BEIJING – After rewriting the record books and sealing his fate as one of the most successful athletes of all-time, Michael Phelps is set to trade Speedos for celebrity — and his representation wants to strike while the iron is hot.
The 23-year-old swimmer’s agent, Peter Carlisle, was about as busy as his client over the weekend, strolling from meeting to meeting as proposals for various business opportunities come pouring in, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
"I've been doing this for a while, and I didn't think I'd be super-surprised at what was going to happen here," Carlisle, a managing director with Octagon Inc., told The Journal. "But I am actually.”
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Movie and book deals, dog food ads and celebrity introduction requests are just a few of the messages left for Carlisle.
Phelps’ popularity, which is quickly surpassing even that of Miley Cyrus in the U.S., could lead to massive corporate battles.
"Michael Phelps would be worth $40 or $50 million to Nike," Howard Bloom, a sports management professor at Algonquin College in Ottawa, told The Journal. "He could literally allow them to launch a massive swimwear company, and I think you are going to see an incredible bidding war for him."
Click here to read more on this story from The Wall Street Journal.
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