Names & Faces: Likely Top Pick Ndamukong Suh Signs With Nike

Suh To Take Part In Webcast For High School Combine As Part Of New Nike Sponsorship

Nike announced it has signed projected No. 1 NFL draft pick DT Ndamukong Suh to an endorsement deal. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Suh will join other Nike football endorsers tomorrow in a Webcast to kick off the '10 Nike High School Combine Tour. Players will be available to the media during the Webcast, with more press materials to follow. The combines are open to high school players across the country free of charge. Suh is represented by The Agency Sports Management for off-the-field marketing work (THE DAILY).

POCKET PRESENCE: In Detroit, Nicholas Cotsonika reports Lions QB Matthew Stafford is in Miami this week promoting several products, and he is as "marketable as a budding star." He will appear today at a Visa event, "talking football" with ESPN's Ron Jaworski and other players, and he will "participate in a performance testing event for Gatorade." Stafford tomorrow will be the "guest of honor and work the red carpet at a party at LIV nightclub, which Axe Hair is taking over for the weekend." Marketers "love how he casually embraces the spotlight, cracking jokes as he pitches their products." Stafford: "It's laid-back. It's not like I'm pitching something super serious. I have fun with it." Cotsonika notes Axe Hair "flew him to Los Angeles in January to shoot video clips of women giving him 'hair action,'" and the clips are posted on the company's Facebook page (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 2/4).

TIGER, PART DEUX: In Manchester, Owen Gibson reported Umbro "refused to comment" on the status of its US$6.3M endorsement deal with EPL club Chelsea and England D John Terry after Terry has been accused of having an extramarital affair with a teammate's ex-girlfriend. Meanwhile England national team sponsor Nationwide "has made it clear it sponsors the team rather than individuals." Branding experts expect Nationwide and Samsung, which has the shirt sponsorship for Chelsea, to "quietly drop Terry's image from campaigns while they gauge public opinion." Gibson noted Terry "has surprisingly few personal endorsement deals," as he has "failed to make much commercial capital" from his role as England captain. Aside from a deal with male grooming brand King of Shaves that ended April '08, his "only other personal endorsements have been with Umbro and the computer game Pro Evolution Soccer" (GUARDIAN.co.uk, 2/3).

SISTER ACT: Tennis players Venus and Serena Williams appeared on Fox Business last night to discuss Serena winning the Australian Open women's singles title and both of them winning the doubles crown. Fox Business' David Asman said, "When you win, of course endorsements follow. Companies line-up to have these superstars sell their products." Serena talked about their latest deal with Nabisco and the company's low-calorie product line. Nabisco is sponsoring a contest called "Diet Like A Diva," where the winner will earn a photo shoot with the sisters that will appear "in all kinds of magazines" ("America's Nightly Scoreboard," Fox Business, 2/3).

NOTES: In Salt Lake City, Ross Siler reports Jazz G Deron Williams, as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend in Dallas, "will be introduced next Thursday as one of three new faces of the 'got milk' ad campaign" along with MLB Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols and U.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 2/4)....Thunder F Kevin Durant "shot a commercial last week that Gatorade will use as a promotion in conjunction with the H-O-R-S-E competition All-Star weekend." The script "had Durant frantically looking for his trophy he won at last year's All-Star Game" (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 2/2).