Endorsement Deals: Not So Fast

Endorsement deals for professional athletes have often come after a strong athletic showing or presence has been established. These deals come in droves. Then when a public scandal erupts all of those companies start scrambling and dropping those deals as fast as they were offered.

When video revealed running back Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens punching out his fiance with a in February he was suspended indefinitely by the NFL. the same day a shocking video surfaced showing the NFL star knocking out his future wife with a punch in February.

Endorsement deals began to end soon after the February incident. Vertimax, a sports equipment company ended their deal with him followed by Dick’s Sporting Goods and Modell’s pulling his jerseys from stores. Nike ended their endorsement, and EA Sports said it would scrub Rice from the Madden NFL 15 video game. Rice currently has no remaining active endorsement deals.

I believe that in the times coming there will be vetting beyond a player's ability to play when it comes to endorsement deals. Companies may wish to dig into a player's personal history before signing on the line. Aligning with a player who has questionable morals could be damaging for the endorsing company. In this digital day and age when news is reported as it happens a company cannot afford themselves scandals such as these. A moral compass verified by an extensive vetting process will lessen the occurrence of scandals like those of Ray Rice.

http://fortune.com/2014/09/20/ray-rice-adrian-peterson-tiger-woods-athletes-dropped-endorsements/

Olympic Sponsors & Their Hefty Price Tags

The 2012 London Olympics list of sponsors commanded some very impressive vendors. The sponsors range in type. Worldwide sponsors are comprised of 11 big companies such as Coca Cola, who sponsor at amounts in the range of $100m through the International Olympic Committee. Tier One sponsors include partners, such as Adidas, BT and BMW, who each pay around $40m - there are seven of these. Additionally seven "supporters" paid $20m and then 28 "suppliers" pay around $10m.

Sponsors of the Olympics pay hefty price tags for incredible worldwide exposure. Here is a detailed look at the 2012 London Olympic Sponsorship List

Company	Type	Value, $m, total known deal	£m
Coca Cola	Worldwide	100	64
Acer	Worldwide	100	64
Atos	Worldwide	100	64
GE	Worldwide	100	64
Dow	Worldwide	100	64
McDonald's	Worldwide	100	64
Omega	Worldwide	100	64
Panasonic	Worldwide	100	64
P&G	Worldwide	100	64
Samsung	Worldwide	100	64
Visa	Worldwide	100	64
Adidas	London 2012 Olympic Partners	63	40
BMW	London 2012 Olympic Partners	63	40
BP	London 2012 Olympic Partners	63	40
British Airways	London 2012 Olympic Partners	63	40
BT	London 2012 Olympic Partners	63	40
EDF	London 2012 Olympic Partners	63	40
Lloyds TSB	London 2012 Olympic Partners	63	40
Adecco	London 2012 Olympic Supporters	31	20
ArcelorMittal	London 2012 Olympic Supporters	31	20
Cadbury	London 2012 Olympic Supporters	31	20
Cisco	London 2012 Olympic Supporters	31	20
Deloitte	London 2012 Olympic Supporters	31	20
Thomas Cook	London 2012 Olympic Supporters	31	20
UPS	London 2012 Olympic Supporters	31	20
Aggreko	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Airwave	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Atkins	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
The Boston Consulting Group	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
CBS Outdoor	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Crystal CG	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Eurostar	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
G4S	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
GlaxoSmithKline	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Gymnova	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Heathrow Airport	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Heineken UK	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Holiday Inn	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
John Lewis	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
McCann Worldgroup	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Mondo	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Nature Valley	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Next	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Nielsen	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Populous	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Rapiscan Systems	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Rio Tinto	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Technogym	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Thames Water	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Ticketmaster	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Trebor	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
Westfield	London 2012 Olympic Providers and Suppliers	15	10
TOTAL, INC IOC		2,178	1,404
TOTAL, LONDON ONLY		1,078	700

Olympic Athletes- Your Morals Matter: Just Ask Michael Phelps

It has become a classic case these days- that darn internet and what we allow on it publicly can come back to bite you- right in the pocketbook! Just ask Olympic swimming gold medal winner Michael Phelps. 

When Phelps was revealed in a photo where it appeared he was using a bong Kellogg's decided to end the marketing contract they had with him. They felt it portrayed him in a negative likeness that did not correspond to his Olympian profile. 

Understandably businesses tend to shrink  away from individuals who would put their integroty as a business in jeopardy. Kellogg's reputation is that they be represented by those who are positive role models.

Unfortunately Phelps' actions have become like a domino game resulting in poor choices that have cost him credibility in the public eye.

Morals clauses are common place in many endorsement deals for Olympic athletes. A company desires for those marketing their products and company to portray a positive image as it reflects on both the athlete and the company.Olymi

Reference: http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2009/02/06/kellogg-drops-phelps-after-photos/

Photo cred: http://101easy.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/michael-phelps-smoking-pot-weed-marijuana.jpg?w=199