Cano to be ambassador for mobile device maker HTC

Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano has signed a multiyear deal to become the first athlete brand ambassador for global mobile device maker HTC.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. HTC is expected to use Cano in digital ads, as well as more traditional advertising.

The deal followed a lunch meeting with the president of HTC America.

The endorsement came about after Cano had lunch with Jason Mackenzie, president of HTC America at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle in August, said Michael Yormark, Roc Nation president and chief of

The meeting was part of a CEO program that Roc Nation has instituted for the second baseman, as well as other athletes it represents, to meet with the top executives in the cities where they play.

HTC is based in Taiwan, but its North American headquarters are in Seattle.

Before the lunch, HTC had sent Cano a phone. “Robbie was an iPhone user, and, during the lunch, he pulled out the phone they had given him,” Yormark said. “And Robbie made clear that he had been using the phone and really enjoying it.”

They did not talk business at that lunch, but later HTC called and proposed the partnership, said Yormark, who negotiated the deal for Cano along with Evan Levine, Roc Nation vice president of sales.

Erin McGee, HTC America vice president of marketing, said in a statement, “Robbie’s authentic enthusiasm for our products, brand and company values made the decision to work together easy.”

Yormark has said that Roc Nation thinks Cano will get as many, or more, endorsement deals in the Seattle market as he would have had he re-signed with the Yankees after the 2013 season and stayed in New York. Yormark said he expects to announce more deals for Cano soon.