Vick Signing Is Risky Business

But the Philadelphia Eagles' corporate backers can probably count on fans to worry more about winning than the team's image

Michael Vick at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia on Aug. 14, 2009. Larry French/Getty Images

By Mark Hyman

Real football doesn't begin for three weeks, but the Philadelphia Eagles have already pulled off one incredibly risky play. Or so you'd think after the Eagles announced on Aug. 13 that they had signed Michael Vick to be their backup quarterback.

Vick comes to the Eagles with a ton of baggage. Just last month, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell granted conditional reinstatement to the league's once highest-paid player, who had been out of the NFL for two years after serving 18 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring.

No doubt, some Eagles sponsors are wringing their hands about whether that unimpressive résumé could rub off even slightly on their brands. And like most NFL franchises the Eagles have plenty of such sponsors, including Canon (CAJ), Budweiser (ABI.BE), Gatorade (PEP), MasterCard (MA), Staples (SPLS), and US Airways (LCC). In an especially rich deal, NovaCare Rehabilitation years ago bought the naming rights to the team's training facility. The Eagles play in a football palace named Lincoln Financial Field, a deal that is costing the insurer Lincoln National (LNC) nearly $140 million through 2022.

That's a reasonable concern, but probably a needless one. If the history of sports teaches anything, it's that fans don't blame sponsors for the misdeeds of players on the field—mostly because they don't blame the players themselves. At least, not for long.

So far, Eagles sponsors have remained almost totally mute about the team's surprise signing. And what they are saying seems phrased to underscore one point: If you're angry about this, don't be angry at us.

"We have a strong commitment to the Greater Philadelphia region, which includes a long-term agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles for stadium naming rights to Lincoln Financial Field," Lincoln National said in a statement released Friday, Aug. 14. "We have no role in the Eagles operations, including personnel decisions."

Did Sponsors Know Vick Would Be Hired?

Sports marketing experts are divided on whether the Eagles would have spoken with sponsors about the possibility of signing Vick before reaching a decision. "Given how much money is at stake, and the smartness of the parties involved, I'd be very surprised" if a sponsor such as Lincoln National didn't know ahead of time, said Andrew Bergstein, associate director of Penn State's Center for Sports Business & Research.

Or maybe not. "Professional sports teams are in the business of winning, first and foremost. It's rare that one would consult with their business partners on matters that are tied to the field of play," says Scott Becher, president of Sports & Sponsorships Inc., a Boca Raton (Fla.)-based marketing firm, who has represented NFL teams—but not the Eagles—in naming-rights deals.

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