Nike Ends Endorsement Deal With James Winston
Nike does not want anything to do with James Winston. A Nike official told ESPN that the company decided not to renew the deal with Winston. The deal expired before Winston’s suspension was announced.
Winston, the Buccaneers quarterback who is suspended for the first three games of the season because he groped an Uber driver, is not under contract with Nike anymore.
Winston apologized in a statement following the suspension, after denying seven months before that the incident took place.
Nike’s biggest bets on former Heisman Trophy winners haven’t panned out. In 2010, they signed Tim Tebow, whose career on the gridiron faltered. In 2016, when he switched to baseball, he went to Adidas.
Nike signed Johnny Manziel in 2014, but ended the relationship the following year because of his off-field troubles.