When Athletes Lose Endorsements
Nike puts a freeze on their deal with Adrian Peterson.
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Nike Suspends Adrian Peterson Deal - Nike has suspended the endorsement deal of Adrian Peterson while the Minnesota Vikings star running back continues to face child abuse charges. The decision comes after the Radisson hotel chain suspended its sponsorship of the Vikings, too. Sponsors dropping athletes when they are involved in scandals isn't anything new. From Peterson to Kobe Bryant to Tiger Woods, sports stars have lost out on lucrative deals once their images have taken a blow due to run-ins with the law. Read on for a look at other embattled athletes who have lost out on their sponsorships. Damn, it was all good just a week ago!(Photo: Andy Clayton King/Getty Images)
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O.J. Simpson - Hertz Rent-a-Car dropped O.J. Simpson as its pitchman amid reports that he and wife Nicole Brown Simpson were involved in domestic violence disputes in 1992. It turned out to be a good decision, as the former NFL star and actor was tried for the double murder of his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Goldman in June 1994. Although "Juice" was notoriously acquitted, he never got that look from Hertz again.(Photo: AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, Pool, File)
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Tiger Woods - Tiger Woods's All-American, squeaky clean image took a major hit when it came to light that the golfer was embroiled in several extramarital affairs, with multiple mistresses stepping forward in late 2009. And as they continued to step forward, major sponsors began falling back. AT&T, General Motors and Gatorade severed ties with Woods while Gillette suspended planned advertising with the golfer. Only Nike and Electronic Arts stood firmly by his side, continuing to endorse him.(Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
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Kobe Bryant - Kobe Bryant was a three-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers when his world was flipped upside down by a sexual assault complaint in July 2003. A 19-year-old female hotel employee at an Eagle, Colo., resort accused the NBA star of rape. Bryant admitted to adultery with his accuser during a tearful press conference with his wife by his side but denied ever sexually assaulting the woman. Still, sponsors such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Nutella didn't want anything to do with it, dropping their respective deals and getting as far away from the "Black Mamba" as possible.(Photo: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
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Magic Johnson - Magic Johnson's November 7, 1991, press conference announcing he had contracted HIV was both groundbreaking to the sports world and society as a whole. Although the Hall of Famer would go on to spread mass awareness of HIV, some sponsors didn't see anything positive about the announcement. Pepsi and Converse cut Magic's deals shortly after the announcement.(Photo: Charles Norfleet/Getty Images)
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Barry Bonds - Mastercard, Charles Schwab and KFC didn't like steroids being attached to Barry Bonds's record-breaking MLB feats. They each let the slugger know by severing ties with him. Strike out!(Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Photo By Christian Petersen/Getty Images
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Michael Vick - Michael Vick's involvement in an illegal dog fighting ring really rubbed people the wrong way in 2007. Not only did it lead to the NFL quarterback doing nearly two years in Federal prison, but it also triggered Nike and Rawlings to drop Vick like a bad habit. The swoosh, in particular, axed the rollout of his Air Zoom Vick V.(Photo: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
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Lance Armstrong - Nobody respects a liar. When Lance Armstrong lied about using performance-enhancing drugs, endorsers like Nike and Oakley quickly pedaled away from the cyclist. In fact, Forbes magazine estimated that Armstrong lost out on $150 million in future earnings for not being honest.(Photo: Gail Oskin/Getty Images)