The New Orleans Saints were crowned champions, but the successful season was not enough to keep Nike from dropping linebacker Scott Fujita’s endorsement deal.
According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the company dumped the defender for wearing tape on his shoes which covered the Swoosh logo. Fujita reported the news in a diary he kept at the Super Bowl for the newspaper;
Low-point of the day: Not getting a Nike schwag bag in my hotel room. All the guys who are endorsed by Nike got sweet Super Bowl schwag, with about $5,000 worth of merch, including some products from their ACG line, which I love for hiking and for outdoor use. I was endorsed by Nike for seven years, but they voided my contract (after several warnings) for "spatting" my cleats on game-days. Some of us spat, or put tape around our cleats, to keep them tight. Nike, apparently, doesn't like that their precious Swoosh gets covered up. Oh well. Wouldn't be that big of a deal if it weren't for every teammate rubbing it in my face, parading around in all their cool new gear.
At least as a reparation to Nike’s wasted endorsement money, Fujita plugged their “cool new gear” and ACG line in his diary.
Maybe Nike will have better luck showing off their branding with top NFL draft prospect Ndamukong Suh, who signed an endorsement deal with the sportswear giant last week.
