Does He Or Does He Not? Vick/Nike Situation Puzzling Industry

By Liz Mullen, Staff Writer, SportBusiness Journal

Nike Says It Does Not Have Endorsement Deal With Vick

CONFUSED BY NIKE STATEMENT: The Nike statement left many in the industry puzzled, including agents who said Nike typically writes up contracts for product-only or merchandise-only deals with athletes. Agents requested anonymity, saying they did not want to offend Nike because they negotiate deals with the company. "They do contracts for their product-only Nike guys," said one agent. "If it's a merchandise-only deal, they absolutely do contracts." A contract that provides product only, valued at $25,000, for example, would often include incentive clauses for cash payments if the NFL player hit certain targets, such as playing in the Pro Bowl, this agent said. Another agent said Nike sends out tax Form 1099s to players with merchandise-only deals, as these deals often give the athlete and his family the ability to order Nike product for many different sports up to a set dollar amount. Yet another agent said that Nike does do deals without contracts for NFL players in which it provides only on-the-field product, but those contracts are reserved for very low-profile NFL players, such as the team's long-snapper or a player on the practice squad who later moves onto the regular roster. Such deals are often agreed to by the player himself and a Nike field rep. Vick's agent, Joel Segal of BEST, told SportsBusiness Journal on Wednesday that he negotiated the deal for Vick but would not provide any details. Segal did not return phone calls Thursday, nor did Principe.

DOING THE BEST THEY CAN? Many in the industry praised the BEST agency for its efforts in getting Vick re-instated into the NFL, but questioned the release of the information about the new relationship with Nike. "The biggest mistake was made by the agent," said Sonny Vaccaro, a retired basketball sports marketing executive who has worked at Reebok, adidas and Nike. "By making a statement at that particular conference at that particular time made him what he wanted to be -- the star of the show." Many in the industry noted that this year has been the worst year ever for shoe deals for athletes and that many NFL and NBA players are going with product-only deals. Some speculated that the deal with Vick was for him to wear Nike without compensation, with the idea that he would get an endorsement contract later depending on his performance on and off the field.

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