NEW YORK (AP)—Michael Vick(notes) is back with Nike two years after the company severed ties over the quarterback’s involvement in a dogfighting ring.
“Mike has a long-standing, great relationship with Nike, and he looks forward to continuing that relationship,” his agent, Joel Segal, said Wednesday.
Segal would not reveal terms of the agreement. Nike declined a request for comment.
The deal was announced during a panel discussion at the Sports Sponsorship Symposium by Michael Principe, the managing director of BEST, the agency that represents Vick.
The endorsement is the latest step forward for Vick as he seeks to rehabilitate his career and his image after serving 18 months in federal prison. On Sunday, Vick played his first regular-season game since December 2006.
“It is quite evident that athletes that run afoul of the law are by no means relegated to obscurity when it comes to pitching products,” said David Carter, a professor of sports marketing at the University of Southern California.
Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 13. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gave him his full reinstatement Sept. 3, saying he could return to the field in Week 3.
Vick participated in 11 plays, accounting for 30 total yards, in the Eagles’ 34-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, as Philadelphia tries to use him in a variety of ways as a backup.
Nike, which signed Vick as a rookie in 2001, terminated his contract in August 2007 after the Atlanta Falcons star filed a plea agreement admitting his involvement in the dogfighting ring. At the time, Nike called cruelty to animals “inhumane, abhorrent and unacceptable” and halted release of his fifth signature shoe, the Air Zoom Vick V.
Back when Vick first signed with the Eagles, Carter had said he was “too toxic for most companies to even consider taking a chance on him.” What’s changed? As Carter noted Wednesday, there has been little backlash to the quarterback’s return to the NFL.
Protests have been limited, and the Eagles’ sponsors have stood by them. That experience could make companies less wary about adding Vick as an endorser, though the biggest determinant might be no different from any other athlete: how well he performs on the field.
Retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods said earlier this month that it wasn’t carrying Vick’s Eagles jersey in any of its 300 stores as a business decision.
But Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at University of Oregon, isn’t surprised that Nike re-established its relationship with Vick.
“Nike has a history of supporting athletes. I think they are supporting an athlete who still garners attention,” Swangard said. “This is about Michael Vick as the athlete not Michael Vick the prisoner. … When he is inside the lines of the field he is an exciting football player and that’s what a brand like Nike can tap into.”
Vick signed a $1.6 million deal with the Eagles, with a team option for the second year at $5.2 million. He was once a corporate star—holding multimillion dollar deals to market everything from sneakers to sports drinks. But those millions are long gone.
In July, Vick filed for bankruptcy protection while serving his sentence, saying he owed between $10 million and $50 million to creditors.
To Carter, Nike likely made a calculated business decision that the benefit of sales tied to Vick outweighed any potential public outrage.
Vick must still have some selling power if the company is getting behind him, he said. “Nobody understands their consumer and has their finger on the pulse of their consumer like Nike does.” – Yahoo
Provided the 40-year-old seven-time world champion can prove his fitness – and the German is a man who prides himself on his conditioning – he will line up against reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton for the very first time at the European Grand Prix in Valencia on Aug 23.
The announcement, which will have Ferrari’s hardcore tifosi drooling, came just 24 hours after the German driver’s manager, Willi Weber, said he was “200 per cent sure” his client would not race in Valencia.
That bold prediction was made to look rather foolish at about 6pm on Wednesday.
“Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro intends to entrust Michael Schumacher with Felipe Massa’s car until the Brazilian driver is able to race again,” Ferrari announced on its website.
“Michael Schumacher has shown his willingness and in the next few days he will undergo a specific programme of preparation at the end of which it will be possible to confirm his participation in the championship starting with the European Grand Prix.”
The question is: why? Schumacher, who most certainly does not need the money, said as recently as three weeks ago that he had no intention of making a comeback in a sport he bestrode like a colossus for 15 seasons.
And as Weber pointed out, the most successful F1 driver of all time, a man with 91 grand prix wins to his name, is not one to settle for second best. “When Michael was racing he would get as close to perfection as possible,” Weber said on Tuesday. “In this case, it would not be perfection; it would be a gamble – and that’s not Michael’s style.”
Schumacher clearly has other ideas. Although he said his decision was inspired by a sense of duty to a team for whom he still acts as an advisor following Massa’s horrific crash during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend, he admitted that he was also motivated by the challenge of competing against a new generation of drivers in a new machine.
“It is true that the Formula One chapter has long been closed for me but for team loyalty reasons I can’t ignore this unfortunate situation,” Schumacher said of his close friend Massa, who is expected to miss the rest of the season despite his rapid recovery from a life-threatening skull fracture.
“The most important thing first: thank God, all news concerning Felipe is positive, and I wish him all the best again.
“This afternoon I met with team principal Stefano Domenicali and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe.
“As the competitor I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge.”
The subtext was clear; with Ferrari beginning to look as if they are capable of challenging for race wins for the first time this year, Schumacher clearly believes he can add to his incredible tally of victories.
And with McLaren’s Hamilton having notched his first victory of 2009 in Budapest last weekend, the mouth-watering prospect of their first-ever showdown awaits in Valencia, a race which produced a distinct lack of fireworks on its debut last year.
And what effect might Schumi have on Jenson Button’s world title bid? How ironic would it be if he cost his old technical director Ross Brawn, now spearheading Brawn GP’s march to glory, the constructors’ championship?
The whole season has just been given a fresh twist – as if it needed it.
First Schumacher must prove his fitness. Since retiring in 2006 he has occasionally taken part in motorcycle events and in February he suffered neck and back injuries in a bike accident.
His spokeswoman Sabine Kehm warned on Tuesday that those injuries could affect his ability to drive an F1 car which places huge pressures on the neck because of the varying G-forces.
However, when the German sets his sights on something, he has an enviable record of achieving it and with the four-week mid-season break stretching ahead of him, he has plenty of time to shed a few pounds.
Massa’s recovery from a life-threatening skull fracture, meanwhile, continues to go swimmingly. The Brazilian left intensive care and walked around his bed on Wednesday for the first time since his crash. His private doctor, Dino Altmann, also allayed fears over eye damage said he was certain Massa would be able to race again. – Telegraph
In a deal that seems to have been years in the making, Ferrari has finally made an official announcement: Fernando Alonso will be driving for the Prancing Horse in 2010. Rumors of Alonso going to the team from Maranello started back during the Spaniard’s first stint with Renault, but circumstances with driver lineups didn’t allow for it. Instead, Alonso went to McLaren for one very unhappy season before returning to France.
Since then, Alonso’s fortunes have been mixed and stories of the Italian job have persisted. According to official statements from Ferrari today, an agreement had been reached earlier in the summer for Alonso to move to the Italian team in 2011. However, recent circumstances with the so-called Crashgate fiasco and the departure of team boss Flavio Briatore and sponsor ING have caused the date to be moved ahead a year. Alonso’s Ferrari deal runs for three years.
As expected, current driver Kimi Raikkonen will be departing a year before the end of his contract, although his future remains uncertain. Recent rumors have had him returning to McLaren, although earlier this year it was thought he might switch to the World Rally Championship. – Autoblog
The 20-year-old, who is third on the European money-list, would have to compete in 15 events on the PGA Tour if he makes the move.
“The way the schedule is, it makes it a little bit easier for me to play in America next year,” said McIlroy.
“I’m in no great rush to join the PGA Tour but the opportunity might not be there forever.”
McIlroy could earn a card automatically through winnings earned in 2009 US Tour events.
He was third in the US PGA Championship and fifth in the Accenture Matchplay World Golf Championship.
McIlroy added: “There’s no rush all round because I have to make my decision before 1 December. I’ll be making it before then.”
The Holywood player’s focus this week is on the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland
European money-list leader Martin Kaymer and second-placed Paul Casey are both absent, recovering from injuries.
McIlroy, who finished third in the 2007 tournament to earn his tour card not long after turning professional, can go top even if he finishes second.
He plays with his father Gerry in the pro-am format event over St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns courses, starting on Thursday.
“It’s a big deal for me this week and the Race to Dubai will be in the back of my mind all week but first and foremost I’ve got to get my dad round,” joked McIlroy. – Bbc
This may be hard to believe: In 2003, no pro sports team in the world was worth a billion dollars. By the end of 2008, there were 24, led by European soccer powerhouse Manchester United.
It begs the question: Is pro sports a bubble? That’s hard to say. But with the economy in peril, the days of skyrocketing growth appear to be over, at least for now.
“We’re in for some trying times for the next year or so,” says Larry Grimes, a Washington, D.C.-based mergers and acquisitions consultant who specializes in the sports industry. What he sees ahead is not so much the bursting of a bubble, which by definition would include a wave of selling at distressed prices, but a leveling off of franchise valuations to reflect the current reality. With prospective buyers having trouble lining up financing, many current owners will have little choice but to sit tight and ride out the storm.
The $1 billion-and-up club isn’t particularly broad based. By Forbes’ count, it consists of the New York Yankees, a handful of European soccer clubs and, well, most of the NFL. Spearheaded by the Washington Redskins, which became the first NFL team to break the billion dollar barrier in 2004, the league now boasts 19 of 30 clubs valued above the magic number. The Redskins have since been surpassed by the Dallas Cowboys, whose lucrative merchandising business and (starting next season) new stadium have pushed their value to $1.6 billion, second overall to Manchester United.
Other NFL teams in the top 10 include the New England Patriots (three recent Super Bowl titles), the New York Jets and Giants (a shared new stadium on the way) and the Houston Texans (the league’s biggest stadium naming rights deal). Even the NFL’s least valuable franchise, the Minnesota Vikings, is knocking on the door of billionaire row at $839 million.
Fueled by ever-increasing television contracts and by a wave of new, revenue-producing stadiums, today’s NFL is collectively worth $33.3 billion, up from $11.6 billion a decade ago, while adding just two teams. Over the years, few activities have achieved the Americana status of watching pro football on Sunday afternoons, especially with results of office pools and fantasy leagues on the line. And the league has learned to milk the hobby for all it’s worth. – Forbes
Chinlone is the traditional sport of Myanmar (Burma). Chinlone is a combination of sport and dance, a team sport with no opposing team. In essence chinlone is non-competitive, yet it’s as demanding as the most competitive ball games. The focus is not on winning or losing, but how beautifully one plays the game. – Metacafe
