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Some high-profile incidents in the sporting world have spurred some corporate sponsors to do more research before signing an athlete for an endorsement deal, while others have written into their contracts clauses that allow them to remove themselves from the sponsorship if the team or athlete does something to damage the corporate reputation.
A few companies are avoiding sports sponsorships altogether, as more and more athletes are caught in embarrassing or potentially criminal activities, writes The Los Angeles Times.
T-Mobile and Adidas are rethinking their involvement in the Tour de France because of doping scandals, for example, while Nike has delayed release of its Nike Air Zoom Vick V shoe as Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pled not guilty to federal dogfighting charges.
But companies are moving to give themselves room to back out of contracts if sports stars misbehave, and are adding pressure on their partners to inflict stricter rules on athletes - all of which means there likely won’t be much of a slowdown in the $9.9 billion expected to be spent this year on sports sponsorships.
Rather, says Don Hinchey, vp of communications at sports marketing firm Bonham Group, “We’re going to see a greater interest and involvement in preventing these incidents. If you can be part of the rehabilitative process, you’re able to transmute the potential negative into a positive.”
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