It seems nearly everyone from Sports Business to the Sydney Mourning Herald has been caught up in the story that Kelly Slater is being rewarded for his 10th ASP World Championship Title with a three percent stake in Quiksilver.
While the whole “champ turns down $10 million bonus for large chunk of Quik” story has a wonderfully compelling arc, nothing could be further from the truth.
As we mentioned on January 28, 2010, Quiksilver announced that one of the reasons for their March 26, 2010 shareholders meeting was “To consider and vote upon a proposal to approve the grant of 3,000,000 shares of our restricted common stock to Kelly Slater as part of his sponsorship agreement.”
That proposal was approved by shareholders at the March meeting well ahead of Kelly’s title win. While Kelly will reportedly get a sizable bonus (seven figures) for his 10th title, the well-deserved stock grant is for his nearly lifetime dedication to brand, and not for his winning another title. Though, we can’t say it won’t help his negotiations down the road.
