Decade in Review – The Economic Impact of the Top 10 Sports Blowups

by Eric Goodman

Top 10 of the Decade – The Economic Impact of Player Off the Field Blowups

10)  Chris Henry – The late Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver had a history of legal issues dating back to his college days at West Virginia University and ending with his death on Dec. 16, 2009, when Henry fell off the back of his fiance’s pickup truck during a domestic dispute in Charlotte, N.C.  The troubled former NFL star’s problems with the law began in 2005 when he was pulled over for speeding in Kentucky and it was later discovered that he was in possession of marijuana and was also driving with a suspended license. Other future charges included a concealed gun rap, drunk driving and an accusation of aggravated assault. The 26-year old had never garnered any major endorsement deals in his short pro career, but was suspended for a total of 10 games over a brief 4 ½ seasons in the NFL, costing the troubled star over $200,000 in salary.

9)  Michael Phelps – As of date, the 14-time Gold medal winner had only lost his deal with Kellogg’s, which was believed to be worth well more than the $250,000 that the cereal company typically spends on athlete endorsements, but the controversy surrounding a photograph showing the swimmer inhaling from a bong at a college party in Columbia, SC, which surfaced in early 2009, has certainly damaged Phelps’ future earning potential. The swimming prodigy’s reported average earnings just after he captured eight Gold medals in the 2008 Olympics was around $5 million thanks to deals appearing in Mazda commercials in China and spots for Speedo, AT&T and Subway sandwich shops here in the U.S. That figure falls well below the $100 million in what experts were estimating for endorsement moneys earned from predicted deals such as possibly launching a swim wear line for athletic apparel giant Nike or as a main pitchman for much more coveted contracts like McDonald’s or Coca Cola. And considering that today’s entertainment culture is heavily driven by video games, it could be assumed that Phelps’ unfortunate circumstances might have cost him a few million dollars in that market as well.

8)  Sean Avery – Avery’s unsavory comments about Calgary Flames defensemen Dion Phaneuf dating one of his ex-girlfriends earned the pesky left wing an indefinite suspension from the National Hockey League early in the 2008-09 season, as well as being cut from his then employer, the Dallas Stars.  The Stars’ decision cost them, as they still had to fulfill his entire contract just 23 games into it.  Avery soon resurfaced with his former team, the New York Rangers, when they gave him another job in the middle of that season.  “I like to push it to the edge, no doubt about it,” Avery said in the summer of ‘08, after signing a $15.5 million, four-year deal with the Stars. “That’s how I play. That’s how I live. That’s what I’m all about.”  One is to wonder if Avery used the guaranteed money from the Stars to pay for his new bar and restaurant in New York City, Warren 77.

7)  Mark McGwire – After former Oakland Athletics teammate Jose Canseco came out with his tell-all autobiography, Juiced, Mark McGwire and Major League Baseball became the subject of a federal investigation into steroid use. Perhaps no one was affected by the accusations more than McGwire who fell into virtual obscurity after facing members of Congress in 2005 for questioning about using performance-enhancing drugs. Considering that the slugger retired in 2001 from playing with St. Louis and was just recently hired as the Cardinal’s hitting coach in October, 2009, McGwire missed a full eight years of potential income as a Major League coach or consultant. Although MLB teams do not typically expose the salaries of coaching staff, it could be estimated that a former Major League All-Star like McGwire could cash in with at least a high six figures per year deal. While the always private McGwire maintains that he left the game to spend quiet time with family, many have believed his extended absence from the spotlight had much more to do with the unwanted exposure from Canseco’s accusations.

6)  Adam “Pacman” Jones – The former Tennessee Titans kick return specialist’s performance on the field cannot be questioned, but his inability to stay out of trouble off it lead to his ultimate demise as a potential big-time earner.  Jones’ legal troubles began in 2005 and 2006 with a pair of arrests for assault, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness and were capped by an arrest for his role in inciting a riot in a Las Vegas strip club during NBA All-Star weekend in February 2007 in which a male patron was shot and paralyzed. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Jones for the entire 2007 season, losing his entire base salary of $1.29 million and then the troubled corner back was suspended four more games while with the Dallas Cowboys in 2008 because of an assault situation involving Jones and his bodyguard, which led to him ultimately being cut by Dallas in January, 2009. Pacman was reportedly earning in the high six figures when the Cowboys cut ties. During the 2007 suspension, Jones’ marketability was so low that his contract with Total Non-Stop Action wrestling was also terminated after less than three moths with the company. An attempt to land a one-year $60,000 deal with the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers fell through in September, 2009 after Mr. Jones made comments referring to the CFL as the United Football League. As of date, Jones remains unemployed.

5)  Ricky Williams – Diagnosed with clinical depression and social anxiety disorder, Williams has never been shy to admit that he uses marijuana to help alleviate the symptoms of his sicknesses. However, NFL substance abuse policies of course include the illegal drug marijuana and amid the allegations of pot use, the Miami Dolphins running back briefly retired from the League for the entire 2004 season. Many fans wondered why Williams would outright retire instead of serving the suspension, but he told the Toronto Sun in 2006 that it was the “most positive thing” he has done in his life. When the eccentric running back returned to the Dolphins for the 2005 season, he had to pay them back a portion of his signing bonus and serve the same four-game suspension and pay the $650,000 fine that was originally imposed by commissioner Tagliabue right before his one-year hiatus from the League. Shortly thereafter, Williams was suspended by the League for the entire 2006 season after violating the substance abuse policy for the fourth time, thus losing him his multi-million dollar salary with the Dolphins. However, Williams found a way to maintain a decent living at that time as his $240,000 contract with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in 2006 was the largest ever in the Canadian league. Williams has appeared to have finally gained redemption as his September 2009 one-year contract extension with the same Dolphins team that he retired and was suspended twice from, earned him $4.35 million. Although advertisers kept their distance from Williams throughout his career, this is the rare case of superb performance on the field keeping an athlete’s pockets full.

4)  Ray Lewis – The Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis was accused in the murder of two men in 2000, but was never found guilty for the crime. The All-Pro linebacker was not involved in any major endorsement deals at the time of the controversy, but the impact of the murder implications certainly altered his potential bottom line. Lewis was not offered future bonuses such as the “I’m going to Disney World” commercial for when he was the Super Bowl MVP in 2001 or an appearance on the subsequent Wheaties cereal box with the rest of his Ravens teammates. Disney has reported that they typically offer $30,000 for athletes to shout the famous slogan right after the Super Bowl as well as to appear on subsequent print and billboard ads within their theme parks. Additionally, Lewis was also levied a $250,000 fine by commissioner Tagliabue, a then NFL record. He did bounce back somewhat by landing deals as the cover image on the popular Madden video game as well as with Under Armour athletic wear, but it can only be imagined what other big benefits the defensive star could have reaped if he stayed on the straight and narrow.

3) Kobe Bryant – A sexual assault charge by a 19-year old in the summer of 2003 led to the Los Angeles Lakers point guard losing multi-million dollar endorsement deals with McDonald’s, Nutella and Coca Cola, although Nike stood behind Bryant throughout the trial and subsequent out-of-court settlement. Additionally, Kobe Bryant’s then No. 8 L.A. Lakers jersey sales went from being the 10^th best seller for the NBA in the 2002-03 season to only 90^th when the 2003-04 season began in the wake of the assault accusation. In a rare case of redemption for an athlete involved in such a serious controversy, Bryant has since regained his endorsement deals with Spalding and Sprite, a subsidiary of Coca Cola, and was reported by Esquire magazine in June, 2009 to have earned $45 million this year in salary, endorsements and other business ventures, including his now No. 24 Lakers jersey returning as the NBA’s top-selling jersey.

2) Michael Vick – Indictment for animal cruelty in July 2007 not only landed the former Atlanta Flacons quarterback in jail for a 23-month sentence, but subsequently led to lucrative multi-million dollar deals with Rawlings, Coca Cola, Reebok, Nike and Upper Deck being pulled. Additionally, Vick was ordered to reimburse the Falcons $19.97 million of the $37 million dollar signing bonus he was to earn for the 2007 season. Also, Vick lost his $3.4 million dollars in salary that was to be earned in 2007.  The economic impact was also felt by the National Football League who could no longer profit off the Reebok Vick #7 jersey sales that was previously its best seller leading up to the quarterback’s sentencing. While there is no raw data readily available as to how much profit the NFL earns off the sales of individual players’ replica and authentic jerseys, the National Football League Players Association had reported in early 2009 that royalties earned by all members of the NFLPA for total annual jersey sales typically reach about $18 million.

1)  Tiger Woods – The story about Tiger’s numerous marriage infidelities is much too recent to sufficiently analyze at the moment, but judging by the public’s passionate reaction thus far, it’s safe to say that the economic impact of Mr. Woods’ inability to honor his marital vows might be quite substantial. As of now, Tiger has only lost his six-year deal with technology outsourcing firm Accenture as well as a hefty contract with Swiss watch maker Tag Huer, but Gatorade also recently dropped the Tiger Focus drink from its line and men’s shaving razor giant Gillette claimed that Tiger’s presence would be scaled back. And for someone that Golf Digest had reported as earning $117.3 in 2008 as a result of winnings and endorsement deals as a member of the Professional Golfing Association; it remains to be seen how his hiatus from the Tour will hurt the golf league’s profit margins for the 2010 season. To get a rough idea, the PGA’s second biggest earner in ‘08 was Phil Mickelson at $44.8 million.