Martian Handballer Strikes a Sponsorship Deal
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Earth 2044
Martian Handball is the most popular interplanetary sport with over 600 million viewers, each season. Illustration by Mixform Design.
“A three-year contract valued at $210 Million USD”
SAVEN, the second largest supplier of athletic apparel and footwear on Earth, announced that the company signed Martian Handball player, Zion Malik, to a three-year contract valued at $210 Million USD. The sponsorship deal sets a precedent for the market value of Martian Handball players and the apparel company’s expansion onto the Red Planet. In this historic move, SAVEN becomes the first company on Earth to offer a sponsorship deal to a Martian athlete.
Similar to athletic sponsorships on Earth, the SAVEN deal will result in signature shoes and apparel for Malik. The athlete receiving royalties on merchandise and shoes sold on Earth and Mars. In addition, Malik agreed to participate in the company’s human physiology and performance studies on Mars, in the recently announced SAVEN Mars Sports-Research LAB (SMSLAB) near Valles Marineris.
“Over 600 million terrestrials subscribe to the Martian Handball League broadcast.”
After the formation of the Martian Handball League (MHL) in 2041, the sport has generated significant interest and viewership on Earth—over 600 million terrestrials subscribe to the MHL broadcast on Dispersion (the largest streaming service on Earth). In addition to the interplanetary broadcast of games (with latency), several high-occupancy Martian Handball stadiums have been built in the last two years, such as Zizu Stadium in Kasei Valley and Vallerta Stadium in Valleris Marineris.
“Originally from Singapore, 25-Year-Old Zion Malik has become the unofficial face of the sport.”
Originally from Singapore, 25-year-old Zion Malik has captured the imagination of MHL fans and has become the unofficial face of the sport. Millions of people tune into Kasei Valley Astros games on Thursday evenings (Earth Time) to watch Circle Runner Malik score a multitude of goals. Malik is also among the top five most popular Mars settlers on social media—his on and off relationship with fellow settler and model Katia James has also added to his allure.
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The rules for Martian Handball resemble the rules of handball on Earth. Due to lower gravity on Mars, however, the players are equally engaged in vertical movement, as they are in ground coverage. The photogenic sport also created an opportunity for apparel and footwear companies like SAVEN to create anthropometric shoes, suits, and gear that allows athletes to leap higher, run faster, and reduce injuries. Lower gravity on Mars has been reported to cause muscle and joint strain for athletes on the Red Planet, and SAVEN’s specially-designed training equipment and apparel reduces articulation pressure.
““We at SAVEN believe that sponsorship deals like Malik’s are just the beginning for Martian Handball Players.””
SAVEN CEO, Azalia Vivaldia, states “Zion Malik is the heart and soul of Martian Handball. His immense athletic ability on the pitch, and his intelligence and heart off the pitch make him a great representative of our company. We at SAVEN also believe that sponsorship deals like Malik’s are just the beginning for Martian Handball players.”
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The announcement of SAVEN’s contract with Malik comes a couple days after the apparel company’s statement to build a sport science lab on Mars—the largest of its kind. The company claims that physiology research and data capture on human physical performance helps advance sport science for athletes on both planets.
SAVEN’s Vice-President of Martian Sport, Camilla Turner, highlights “Martian sport science and the creation of new technologies for use on Mars, have allowed us to reexamine our existing apparel technologies on Earth. We are looking forward to working with Malik in our SMSLAB to create cutting-edge technologies that could be used in our apparel and shoes on both planets.”
SAVEN stock jumped 8% after the announcement of Malik’s contract. Other athletic apparel companies, such as Nike, Adidas, and Redsport are expected to follow suit in offering sponsorship deals to Martian Handball players and expanding their presence on the Red Planet.
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