Being an athlete is a profession that can make you a ton of money. Not just from the salaries obtained by one’s respected organization, but from endorsement deals made on the side due to performance and popularity. These endorsements sometimes drastically outweigh the amount of money a player makes yearly. However once a player commits an act that is ethically or morally wrong, they will lose their endorsement deals.
The two most recent athletes who have been on top of scandals are Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson. They were both top running backs in the NFL, but issues of domestic violence were revolving of them both which ultimately left them short of their endorsement deals.
Ray Rice- Vertimax, Nike, EA Sports
Adrian Peterson- Radisson Hotel deal with Minnesota Vikings, Nike, Wheaties
Before the 2 aforementioned, both Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods were athletes who were idolized and on top of the chain in their sports. But ethical issues were committed by them both causing them to lose out on millions of dollars. Armstrong had been found to be taking performance enhancing drugs, while Woods was involved in a marital scandal.
Lance Armstrong- Nike, Anheuser-Busch, Trek Bicycle Corp
Tiger Woods- Gillette, Gatorade, AT&T, Tag Heuer
Other prominent athletes who lost huge endorsement deals due to ethical issues are Barry Bonds, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Phelps. Billions of dollars were invested into these names and the deals had to be pulled. When an athlete commits an act of ethical or moral standard they not only sometimes lose their career they lose out on a ton of cash with their endorsements.
It is in the endorsers’ very best interest to pull their contracts with athletes. After all they can’t be represented by an individual who is a bad guy in the eyes on the public.