UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones stated that he lost his sponsorship with Nike due to his August 4th brawl with Daniel Cormier. Jones revealed this information during Tuesday’s Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing.
Jones expressed remorse for his role in the fight and indicated he lost his Nike sponsorship as a result of the fight. According to Jones’ attorney, the Nike deal was “over six figures” a year. His attorney also indicated another potential sponsorship was lost due to the Cormier dustup.
In the end, the commission found Jones a credible witness and believed that he was truly sorry for what happened. As a result, it ordered a $50,000 fine and 40 hours of community service.
Payout Perspective:
If Jones lost Nike due to the brawl it was a big blow for his sponsorship portfolio and shows the fragile relationship he must have had with the swoosh. But let’s look at the recent landscape of when Nike decides to terminate deals. Certainly it is image conscious and protects its brand. It has pulled the contracts from Lance Armstrong, Ryan Braun and Michael Vick. More recently, it pulled deals from Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson. Notably, Peterson’s deal was reported to be worth $750,000 a year per a recent Bloomberg article.
But in contrast, Nike has stood by other athletes such as Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods when there were reports of infidelity.
So let’s look at the reasons each of the above-named athletes’ wrongdoing and what necessitated Nike to pull its support.
Lance Armstrong – admission of doping
Ryan Braun – drug violations
Michael Vick – dogfighting
Ray Rice – domestic violence
Adrian Peterson – alleged child abuse
Jon Jones – media day fight
What doesn’t belong? You may recall that Jones had a DUI in May 2012 pre-dating his sponsorship with the apparel giant, yet he was still picked up later by Nike.
Obviously the above list is not a compilation of all of the reasons Nike pulls an athlete’s endorsement deal but it gives one a good snapshot.
So in this case, either Nike jumped the gun on dismissing Jones from his sponsorship, used the fight with Cormier as a reason out of its sponsorship or just did not want to sponsor him anymore. Perhaps Nike does not have the same respect for MMA that it does for other sports like MLB, NBA, NFL or cycling.
UPDATED: 09/24/14
UFC fighter Jon Jones says Nike terminated his deal because of a press conference fight. Doubtful it's that alone.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) September 24, 2014
This was pre-fight hype that got out of hand. Admittedly way out of hand but still, I think Nike is overreacting.
Initially it sounds like Nike was overreacting but this could be the combination of the DUI and the pre-fight brawl. Maybe Jones was on thin ice with Nike after that incident, and this was jusf the straw that broke the camels back.
Nike is only using this as a scapegoat to get out of the deal with Jones. The UFC won’t let the Nike logo on screen because they, rightfully so, refuse to pay the 100k fee the UFC is demanding for there logo on Bones’ shorts. The UFC will do anything to ensure that their fighters make as little money as possible. And before i get called a troll, etc. Unlike “Saldathief” or “tops e” i actually have a life and don’t spend the majority of my day researching sports i don’t like as i am an MMA fan
To even put Jones in the same sentence as these major sports stars is a fucking joke!
The money team sounds to be right about nike.but too bad he talks out his ass and has no idea what kind of fight fan I am and how long ive seen promotions come and go! Get a real name son! what are you a floyd blowjob groupie?
I think what i said was fairly accurate Saldathief. I’ve never once seen you say anything positive about MMA and saying “To even put Jones in the same sentence as these major sports stars is a fucking joke!” Is proof of that.
sal thinks his biased input is good.
Sal likes old men
Hahahaha….bad investment for nike (they realized)to the fastest declining sport….they probably saw the downward ppv numbers tuf etc.and all the outside the cage controversies hahaha
Dam Tops you are still coming here just to shit on mma? Christ thats sad.
anyway someone above said it, it wasnt due to this alone, UFC probably didnt have a deal with them so to Nike if you cant get the brand on Jon during fights then whtas the point?
the whole point is to get the brand on him in fights in the UFC cage so if they cant get that they probably figured the investment didnt make sense. The brawl was either the final straw or gave them the out they needed in the contract to ditch him.
Hahaha Crying chris is back!!….you comment now that you see everythings going downhill for the ufc hahaha…they need all the fanboys now….wand is exposing the lowpay cheapie ufc….more fighters would soon follow….haha
Darren Rovell is the biggest moron, boxing troll there is.
Chris Conte ahahahahahaha
At money or whatever the fuck your name is! If there is something positive to say about mma and not a bunch of lying bullcrap I will most defiantly will reflect that. I call bullshit when I see bullshit ! Jones athletically is in the same league as these major athletes, but as far as notoriety or mainstream popularity its a complete fucking joke. If you can’t understand that and see jones as a major sports star you my friend are a complete fucking idiot. I stand by all my statements and rarely can be disproved by fact! medicated rant and propaganda and just plain out delusional thinking won’t get anyone far in the real world. Take note! the UFC lies and spins almost everything and has paid fuck boys trolling the internet spewing the lies and propaganda. Don’t believe the hype. So please tell me where I am am wrong that a major household named athlete should be in the same sentence as a fourth rate sport athlete?
@saldathief “At money or whatever the fuck your name is!” Really you’re pretending you don’t know my user name even though in your previous comment you said it as well as mentioning how i suck Mayweather’s balls. I’m going to let you in on a little secret, outside of the country you live in (America i assume) there is this huge area called the rest of the world. For example i live in Ireland but study in England. Vick, Rice, Peterson and Braun are people who I nor most people where i live or study have the slightest clue who these people are where as Jon Jones, even for non combat sports fans, the majority of people would know him either through BT Sport or BBC or just through his highlights on YouTube. I pity you for being under the impression that America is the only country of importance.
Money team…didnt read your post turns out im mentioned hahahaha…but saw long essay….sounds familiar typical ufc fanboy hahaha
tops E, Saldathief also wrote a long essay, by your logic he must also be a UFC fan boy
By your logic moneyteam=low paying ufc? Hahahaha….wand is speaking the truth more fighters would join and expose the slavery of fighters by a chepie promotion haha
Saldaqueef lies and spins everything because he is a fag for Bob Arum. It is so obvious everything he claims is bullshit he completely fabricates. He sucks to much dick to formulate actual coherence and rambles on about why boxing is still growing while mma is declining, when in reality the only ppv stars in boxing are in their late 30s and will retire in a few fights. When that avalanche comes, he will be ready to spring back with more of his bullshit delusional spin.
tops smells like Oprah’s ass.
“. I stand by all my statements and rarely can be disproved by fact! ”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
-That is the epitome of delusions of grandeur.
I give you Sal Da Queef everyone!
tops E what i wrote originally was criticising the UFC preventing fighters from making big money yet you write back to me trying to tell me the UFC is underpaying? I think you realise how much of a retard you came off as and decided to try and play it off… Unlucky pal
Moneyteam u use a lot of ” I’s” in ur comments hahahaha
tops you shouldn’t have responded lad! Now you look like a retard
All of a sudden the “I” usage is gone hahaha….its a miracle lol
The “I” wasn’t necessary. Do you understand grammar?
Still no “I”? Hahahaha…
hahahaha. Tops can’t tell when someone is agreeing with him or not. He’s slow.
There was an “I” did you not see it? Here’s the same comment “The “I” wasn’t necessary. Do you understand grammar?” Notice that the “I” is the second word mentioned
Wheres your “I” that you always include in ur comments? Hahahaha….
I really don’t think you understand English hahahaha
I really don’t think you understand English hahahaha
There it is hahaha