Bank Removes Boston-Area Billboard Featuring Jon Lester Following Trade From Red Sox

The Red Sox last week traded P Jon Lester to the A's, and a People's United Bank billboard featuring Lester on the Massachusetts Turnpike "was indeed gone" by midday yesterday, according to Deirdre Fernandes of the BOSTON GLOBE. The billboard had gone up just "days before" the trade. People's Bank signed an endorsement deal with Lester in '11 as it "expanded branches into the Boston area and tried to introduce itself to new customers." Altus Marketing & Management Dir of Business Development Nick Gregorian, who reps Lester, said that the "timing of the latest billboard was unfortunate." Lester's reps said that his endorsement contract with People’s United "ended upon his trade." Boston-based Eastern Bank had a similar partnership in '12 with then-Red Sox 1B Adrian Gonzalez, but that "ended suddenly when he was traded" to the Dodgers. Fernandes notes most endorsement deals "allow institutions to break the contract without losing money, if the player gets traded or acts inappropriately" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/5).