Former USC running back Reggie Bush hasn’t even touched an NFL football yet, and is already making more in endorsements than most veterans in the league. Bush previously announced his deal with Subway, but last week he signed a $1 million with Adidas, making it the largest deal ever signed by a running back. Bush will promote football and training attire and launch his own line of shoes in 2007.
"Adidas is about performance and giving athletes the edge to play at the top of their game," Bush said in a statement. "This partnership is a great opportunity for me to make my mark in the NFL with a brand that has a championship legacy."
But it doesn’t stop there. Bush also signed a deal with Hummer, which will allow him to drive their jeeps for a year, and a deal with Icelink jewelry, which hooked him up with his watches and other shine on draft day. In addition, he signed on to be the cover athlete for EA Sports’ NCAA Football '07, which drops in July.
"This has been an amazing year for me and being chosen for the cover of NCAA Football '07 is a great way to end my college career," Bush said. "I’ve grown up playing EA Sports games and never imagined I would see myself on the cover of one."
Must be nice to be Reggie Bush!
Chauncey Billups Does Golf for the ChildrenDetroit Piston
Chauncey Billups has teamed up with the Children’s Center once again to host The Children's Center Celebrity Golf Classic July 31. The tournament will be held at the Birmingham Country Club in Michigan. All the proceeds from the game will be given to the Children’s Center a non-profit organization that was one of the first child guidance clinics.
Last year, Billups also hosted the event, which included teammates
Antonio McDyess and
Rip Hamilton, along with players from the Detroit Lions, Tigers and Red Wings. Before all that, however, Billups and the Pistons need to take care of the rest of the Eastern Conference.
Evander Holyfield Hawks GrillsFormer boxing champ
Evander 'The Real Deal' Holyfield is following in the footsteps of George Foreman and has signed up with CirTran Corp. to sell “The Real Deal Grill”. The grill is a new electric indoor/outdoor grill to be sold during infomercials by Holyfield. The infomercials will be taped in a few weeks and run through the summer.
"In business, just like in my boxing career, I plan to put in the effort needed to make The Real Deal Grill the champion we all want it to be," Holyfield told DoghouseBoxing.com.
So does this officially signal the end of Holyfield’s boxing career? About time.
Nelly, Ahman Green, Others Play Softball TourneyOn Tuesday, rapper
Nelly, hooked up with Green Bay Packers
Ahman Green, Philly Eagles
Shawn Barber, actress
Gabrielle Union and rappers
Big Gipp and
Murphy Lee for a celebrity softball tournament to benefit Nelly’s 4sho4kids Foundation.
The tournament was held in Richmond, Va. with plans for other tournaments in St. Louis, New York, and Las Vegas. Nelly’s foundation works on improving the quality of life for children born with developmental disabilities: The emphasis is on those with Down syndrome and children born addicted to drugs. For more information on the foundation and other upcoming events check out
www.4sho4kids.org.
James Blake Dissing his Endorsement Deal?When most companies sign athletes to an endorsement deals, they not only want that athlete to promote their product and appear in their commercials, they want them to use them when they’re playing their respective sports as well.
Top ranked tennis dude
James Blake signed with tennis products company Prince Sports in December but according to the Sports Business Journal he hasn’t been living up to the deal. Apparently, Blake hasn’t been playing with a Prince Sports racket, but a Dunlop racket that has been painted with a Prince Sports logo – and they knew it.
"James is working with us to help develop the best product in tennis," Linda Glassel, vice president of sports marketing for Prince told Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. "This has been an ongoing, rigorous development process and it's not unusual in our business that you don't go directly into the new company's technology."
So if everything is fine and good, why the deceit with the Prince Sports logo on the Dunlop racket? Fakin’ the funk, are we?
