Blog Post #6- Article Summary and Analysis

          In the article "JJ Nelson: Adidas never offered deal" by Darren Rovell, he argues the two sides of JJ Nelson's endorsement deal with Adidas. Rovell takes JJ's side, but he brings up all relevant points of the argument. The deal stated that any athletes wearing the new Adidas cleats, signed a contract to endorse the brand before they ran, and who got the top three fastest times in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine would receive $100,000. Before JJ Nelson ran, he was given the option between Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas cleats. JJ selected the Adidas cleats because they were decently comfortable, but he also had the endorsement money in the back of his mind. "I wasn't completely focused on it at the time, I was obviously focused on getting a good time first,"

Rovell quotes Nelson. JJ was mostly focused on running well, but it would be a lie to say that he was not thinking about the money. After Nelson ran the dash and came out with the best overall time of 4.28, he was shocked and confused as to why he was not paid the $100,000 from Adidas. Rovell quotes Nelson, "I signed some waiver at some point, but I was never given a chance to sign an endorsement deal." It could be argued that Adidas never gave JJ the opportunity to sign the official endorsement, therefore being the reason he did not receive what he deserved. 

          In my opinion, Adidas treated JJ Nelson unfairly and it is their fault that this controversy is occurring. It is understandable that Adidas would want the athlete to sign an endorsement deal before running to assure that the athlete would represent them. However, there is no way that Adidas can expect JJ Nelson to sign an endorsement deal if he was never given one. JJ selected the Adidas cleats and ran in the top three fastest overall times, yet he was actually the fastest overall in the whole combine. Nelson qualified in all of Adidas' requirements, but did not receive his reward because he did not sign an endorsement deal he was never presented with. I personally think that is no one else's fault besides Adidas. They failed to communicate the deal with JJ Nelson which caused him to unfairly lose the money and the endorsement itself.