{"id":458922,"date":"2021-01-06T15:24:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T22:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=458922"},"modified":"2021-01-06T15:24:40","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T22:24:40","slug":"how-adding-a-draft-would-boost-international-swimming-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/how-adding-a-draft-would-boost-international-swimming-league\/","title":{"rendered":"How Adding a Draft Would Boost International Swimming League"},"content":{"rendered":"

How Adding a Draft Would Boost International Swimming League<\/strong><\/p>\n

From football to hockey, hearing your name on draft night is something that every young athlete dreams of, and for good reason. Sitting in a giant arena dressed to the nines, surrounded by your closest friends and family, waiting for the commissioner to announce your name is a huge event in an athlete\u2019s life, to the point that many who are lucky enough to get picked are brought to tears by the ensuing surge of emotions. As the International Swimming League gains more and more traction, having now finished its sophomore season, the question shouldn\u2019t be if it will ever hold a televised draft. It should be when.<\/p>\n

How it Works<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Currently, the ISL teams sign members in a fashion similar to how many other professional sports teams sign athletes. They make a base salary of $15,000 per season and then can earn reward money based on their performance, which is where the real dough comes in – $300 per point scored each round, and $1,000 for each point scored in the final. Similarly, other sports offer an incentive clause where a player can earn additional money by achieving certain benchmarks. For instance, a pitcher in the MLB can earn additional money by reaching a certain amount of innings pitched or games won.<\/p>\n

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Photo Courtesy: Mine Kasapoglu \/ ISL<\/p><\/div>\n

The topic of money itself opens a lot of doors, a lot more than can be explored in this article. If teams were opened to being purchased by independent figures, imagine the waves that could be caused (no pun intended) by millions of people around the United States getting a notification by ESPN saying something like \u201cCaeleb Dressel signs 5-year, $80 million contract extension with Cali Condors.\u201d As swimming becomes a more lucrative business due to the rising popularity of the TYR Swim Series, and swimming careers extend in length, this could become a possibility. You could even have fantasy swimming. (I don\u2019t see this working if I\u2019m being honest but it would be a fun experiment).<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Merchandising<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019s pretty common knowledge that all professional sports leagues have some sort of garb ready for athletes that get selected. Even during a pandemic, they find a way to make players feel as though they\u2019re already a member of the organization. Take, for example, the NBA. In the past, players were often given a team hat (usually one made specifically for the draft) and usually presented with a jersey with their last name on it upon reaching the stage. Because the 2020 Draft was done over Zoom due to the coronavirus pandemic, every top prospect was provided with an in-home locker<\/a> containing an official draft hat along with gifts such as Beats headphones, an Oculus 2 headset, and a personalized Spalding basketball.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not unreasonable to assume that an ISL draft would have something for each swimmer drafted, although it likely wouldn\u2019t be something conventional. The ISL Draft would be unique in that it would feature both men and women being drafted, and if you\u2019ve ever accidentally stumbled upon the criminally underpublicized WNBA Draft on ESPN while channel surfing you\u2019ve seen that unlike other sports leagues (this changed in 2020 like most other things as the draft was not in person), each player is presented with a jersey rather than a hat. Because the ISL itself is unconventional, I could see any of the following things being presented on draft night:<\/p>\n