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Can you get rich with swinging? Not with prize money. The king’s advertising contracts are particularly lucrative.
Swinging is trendy. The Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival (ESAF) expects more than 400,000 spectators over three days. There are also hundreds of thousands who follow the competitions from home. Since 2004, wrestling has been on the upswing, agrees Rolf Gasser from the Swiss Wrestling Association. “Our sport has established itself and is perceived very strongly today, it’s hype.”
He explains this by saying that tradition and one’s own culture are once again more important in Switzerland. Swinging is authentic. This is also attractive for sponsors: In the last ten years, the wrestlers have therefore made more and more money with advertising contracts. It was a total of 2.2 million Swiss francs last year.
But the majority of athletes don’t make money from wrestling, says Rolf Gasser. Of a total of around 3,000 wrestlers, only 70 to 80 wrestlers earn anything at all from sponsorship: some just 500 francs, others up to 100,000 francs a year. The contracts are only really lucrative for the best.
“The pure top can earn something, about five to ten wrestlers could actually make a living from wrestling. But they don’t earn so much that they would have taken care of themselves after their careers,” says Gasser. Gasser thinks that Schwinger would do well to continue working during their career.
The atmosphere, the traditional and the Swissness and with it a huge authenticity. This opens the door to sponsors.
But still: A wrestling king earns several hundred thousand francs a year with advertising contracts. After three years as king, he can earn around one million. For a sport that only takes place in Switzerland, the sponsorship amounts are considerable, says Hans-Willy Brockes, Managing Director of the ESB marketing network.
And also in comparison to sports that are Olympic or in which there are European and world championships. Wrestling is a good example of how you can position yourself as a sport that is actually considered a fringe sport. He finds: “Schwingen is a gigantic success.”
Company: sell as Swiss
The association, the organizers and the athletes would have done a lot right. «The atmosphere, the traditional and the Swissness and with it a huge authenticity. With that you run into open doors with sponsors, »says Brockes. And that’s why you see that companies like Lidl and Aldi advertise with swingers because they can use it to demonstrate their “Swissness”.
At the Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival itself, the king accepts the Muni after his victory. Even if he usually doesn’t take it home with him, the Muni is part of the ESAF. Even if the Muni and the other prizes are just a side dish, as Rolf Gasser from the Schwingerverband describes it. The handover of the strong animal is always symbolic. The sponsors are also happy about the beautiful pictures that are created.