Corporate America Needs to Strip Reggie Bush of His Endorsements

by Jon Johnston on Sep 15, 2006 8:43 PM CDT in Nebraska Husker Football

In one of his commercials, Reggie Bush is seen offering his Heisman Trophy as collateral to Terry Bradshaw for a loan. What was a good joke as a commercial has turned into a revelation of what the Heisman represents to Bush - a pathway to cold, hard cash.

It's too early to tell whether or not any of the coaches at USC knew about what was going on with Bush. We'll find out about that in due time, and what affect it will have on USC's program, but it will be USC that suffers the most from the selfishness of one person.

Corporate America needs to end Reggie Bush's endorsements.
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It's clear that Bush cared most about money. He didn't care about USC, his teammates, or his fans. The most that will happen to Bush is that he is stripped of his Heisman trophy or at the least have the dreaded asterisk placed beside his name.

Why not hit Bush where it hurts him most?

The most cynical of college football fans will say that this kind of behavior is prevalent. USC fans may use that as some type of defense. It is for certain that if nothing is done to Bush that it will serve as another type of endorsement - that it's okay for unscrupulous agents to market themselves in this manner, and for corporate America to sell their products any way they see fit. What does that say about their concern for college football - for the integrity of the game?

If corporate sponsors care about college football and it's fans, then they need to strip him of his endorsements. Make a statement that this kind of thing is not to be tolerated, no matter the star value.

Bush's Heisman is now worth nothing more than the weight of the materials from which it's made. He has made plenty from his NFL contract, and will make more in the years to come. If his corporate sponsors keep him, it'll say a lot about their attitude towards the college game. Bush has shown where he stands. It's time for companies like Adidas to show where they stand.

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Interesting take

I've said numerous times that hitting someone in the wallet is often the best way to send a message. Unfortunately in this instance most of the Bush endorsers couldn't care less about CFB. Rising profits means a higher share price for stockholders. That's all the people care about. Sure you may find a sponsor every so often that will cut a guy loose because of issues of character but someone else will come along and snatch him up. Corporate America is willing to hold their nose when it comes to endorsers behaving badly in order to keep the stock price up.

Kobe lost most of his endorsements during his sexual assault investigation but once he was cleared he got them all back and then some. If he would have been convicted it would not have mattered he would be in jail unable to fulfill the contract.

In the end USC will be holding the bag as more details emerge and Bush will keep his money. Heck, even if they take the endorsement money he still has 26 million in guaranteed money from the NFL and live in the lap of luxury.

Fight On!

by Paragon SC on Sep 15, 2006 9:30 PM CDT reply actions