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Sponsors stayed with Pacers’ Paul George as he recovered from injury

Not only is Indiana Pacers all-star Paul George back on the court, but he’s also the subject of two national commercials for Papa John’s and one new spot for AT&T.

Many predicted that George might never play again, and certainly not this NBA season, after he suffered a compound fracture during a USA Basketball scrimmage in Las Vegas in August. But George returned to the court last week after recovering from the horrific injury.

The injury did not keep sponsors away. The AT&T deal is a new one, after George was injured, as is a deal with Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report filmed an exclusive documentary about George’s recovery and his comeback to the court. The documentary is sponsored by Gatorade, an existing sponsor of George’s. Last week, Gatorade launched an in-store promotion featuring George as part of a campaign relaunching its Lemon Ice flavor.

Paul George returned to the lineup April 5, his first action since breaking his leg last summer.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
AT&T signed George as an endorser in February. Its commercial, which began airing last week, draws a parallel between the strength of George’s recovery and the strength of the AT&T network.

Papa John’s was an existing sponsor of George’s, and the company filmed two commercials featuring him after the injury. One of those started airing recently. The other, which also features company founder John Schnatter and CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz, is scheduled to debut later this month.

George’s other sponsors, Nike, Fanatics and FanDuel, have stuck by him as well. In fact, New Era debuted a cap collection designed by George at NBA All-Star weekend in February.

“Nobody has shied away from him,” said Jessica Holtz, CAA Sports marketing agent, who is part of the team that negotiates George’s endorsement deals. “If anything, people have stepped up even further to show how proud they are of their association with Paul.”

CAA Sports NBA player agent Aaron Mintz, who represents George on the court, said the sponsors’ continued and new involvement speaks to the relationship George has with his partners, as well as to who he is as a person. “It’s been great for Paul to have this support,” Mintz said. “He is a genuine guy, and his story is something so heartfelt everywhere these companies have wanted to get behind him.”

Mintz was in Las Vegas on Aug. 1 when George suffered the bone break in his lower right leg. He met him at the emergency room at Sunrise Hospital, where he underwent surgery. After the surgery, when doctors told George they had put the bone in his leg back in place, Mintz said his response was, “Tell Coach K [USA Basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski] to hold a spot for me on the team. I can still shoot jumpers.”

Mintz remembers that two days after being in the hospital, George was worried that he would not be able to shoot a public service announcement with his mother, a stroke survivor, for the American Heart Association. “He looks at me and says, ‘Don’t I have to be in L.A. tomorrow to shoot this PSA?’” Mintz said. “I looked at him, laughing, and said, ‘Paul, I think we can reschedule that for a later date. I think they will understand.’”

George did end up filming the PSA with his mom, Paulette George, in February, and the spot began airing last week.

> REP 1 SIGNS SKUTA: Rep 1 Sports has signed linebacker Dan Skuta and negotiated his five-year, $20.5 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars last month.

At Rep 1, agents Ryan Tollner, Bruce Tollner and Chase Callahan will represent Skuta, who played for the San Francisco 49ers last season and was an unrestricted free agent. He was formerly represented by The Institute for Athletes.

> PLAYBOOK SIGNS CRAWFORD: Playbook Inc. founder and President Reed Bergman has signed ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Jay Crawford for representation. Crawford was not previously represented.

Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @SBJLizMullen.

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