Nike Inc. is denying a report that it signed Michael Vick to an endorsement contract. The Associated Press had said that the endorsement deal was announced during a panel discussion at the Sports Sponsorship Symposium by Michael Principe, the managing director of BEST, the agency that represents Vick
“He's had a long-standing relationship with Nike,” Vick's agent, Joel Segal, told Associated Press. “He is looking forward to working with Nike now and in the future.”
But in a statement sent to CNBC, Nike spokesman Kejuan Wilkins said no endorsement deal is in place. “Nike does not have a contractual relationship with Michael Vick. We have agreed to supply product to Michael Vick as we do a number of athletes who are not under contract with Nike.”
Nike in August 2007 dropped Vick because of his involvement in a dog-fighting operation in Virginia. Vick missed two NFL seasons while serving a federal sentence. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles during the preseason and made his first regular season appearance for them last Sunday. Nike first signed Vick as an Atlanta Falcons rookie in 2001 and made several signature shoes under his name.
Despite the controversy, Vick's new jersey continues to sell well. According to SportsScanInfo data, Michael Vick has two jerseys in the the top ten sellers over the last four weeks.
