On Sunday night, Eagles tight end Brent Celek struck the Captain Morgan pose after scoring a touchdown during Philly’s 20-16 loss to the Cowboys.
As it turns out, Celek’s stunt was intended to be the first act in a much broader marketing ploy.
Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports reports that the league has slammed the door on the effort to persuade more players to strike the Captain Morgan pose.
“A company can’t pay a player to somehow promote it’s product on the
field,” league spokesman Greg Aiello told Robinson. “Every
league has the same rule. . . . It’s come up before, companies trying to
use our games and then players for ambush marketing purposes.”
The folks at Captain Morgan had planned to announce that $10,000 would be donated to Gridiron Greats, a group that raises money for retired NFL players, each time a current NFL player made like a dog conducting target practice on a hydrant during the regular season. In the playoffs, the number would have spiked to $25,000. For the Super Bowl, the stakes would have been raised to $100,000.
Celek caught wind of the promotion and opted to try it out prior to the official announcement. Though Celek won’t be fined, Aiello told Robinson that any player doing it in the future will face a “significant” penalty.
Three years ago, Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was fined $100,000 for wearing a Vitamin Water hat during a Super Bowl press conference.
Two years ago, KFC offered to donate $260,000 to charity in the name of any player who performed the wing-flapping portion of the “chicken dance” for at least three seconds during Super Bowl XLII. The league reacted angrily, but not too angrily. Last year, KFC became the official wing sponsor for the NFL playoffs. KFC is now a full-fledged NFL sponsor.
So maybe, eventually, Captain Morgan will be the official pirate rum of the NFL.
Buy it by the half-gallon — but please drink it responsibly. We wouldn’t want you to fall down when trying to strike the pose after scoring a touchdown while playing Madden.
Who cares–Fagles still lost.
Of courrrrrrrrrrse they did. They dont want to help former players without getting a cut!
As a Redskin fan it is my sworn duty to start by saying fu*k the Eagles! Now, to the NFL and their bad decision…
If Celek or any other player is not paid a cent for the celebration and the NFL tracks the charitable donations made by Captain Morgan (or any other company for that matter) and there are no discrepancies, who really gives a shit? Assuming Jason Campbell throws a touchdown this weekend, to, say, Fred Davis and he starts “voguing” is Madonna going to get the ban?
If kool-aid wants to pay money to charity for Albert Haynesworth to dance around like the kool-aid guy after every sack I am all for it!
Captain is disgusting.
The only time this league “reacts angrily” is if they aren’t getting their cut of the proceeds.
the captain is not pleased.
Its a novel idea. More companies should come at players with innovative ways to market their products. I’m sure players can skirt around the current rules. I’d buy the stuff.
Why has the league become so obsessed with celebrations? It’s not like he was waving a captain banner or chugging a handle… he was striking a stupid pose for 2 seconds. And it was for CHARITY.
He had a little captain in him…. who cares?
Tony Alexander, only if Haynesworth also says “oh yeeeeaaaahhhhhh!!!!”
I am just wondering how long before the NFL fines Coach Dinky-do, I mean Rex Ryan, for looking like a woman that is 45 months pregnant?
And when is Victoria’s Secret going to start providing bras to coach Manboobs, I mean Mangini?
The No Fun League.
“Buy it by the half-gallon — but please drink it responsibly. We wouldn’t want you to fall down when trying to strike the pose after scoring a touchdown while playing Madden.”
Florio, stop looking into my window!! I know you have seen me try this. What you’re doing is stalking!!!
If Captain Morgan’s has a bunch of money laying around why don’t they just give it to the charity anyway? …Oh and I’ll take $10 G’s while they’re at it.
Sheesh, good thing Budweiser or Miller didn’t start a similiar ad campaign.
You know the NFL is the No Fun League and if they arent getting paid by Captain Morgan than no one is getting paid by Captain Morgan.
And it was for a good cause.
Wouldn’t surprise me if Andy Reid and McNabb also had some Captain Morgan before the game…heck probably since they’ve been in the league. Maybe that’s why they always choke (or vomit)
Argh!
“….to somehow promote it’s product on the field,”
Just because a word ends in “s” doesn’t mean it requires an apostrophe to precede it. In your sentence, “its” is a pronoun and doesn’t require an apostrophe.
Yeah… ambush marketing is evil right NFL??? Just like those Coors Light commercials where actual press conferences are used as commercial fodder.
There’s no double standard here!
OK so now every time a touchdown is scored every idiot will strike a pose or some other dumb act? Yeah, right. Just plain stupid. League did what it had to do and if you don’t like, too bad, that’s the way it is.
Gee what a surprise, the NFL doesn’t want:
1) players to have any fun or display any individuality of any kind
2) money or attention devoted to Gridiron Greats because it draws attention to the league’s disgusting neglect of those players that are literally falling apart from setting the foundation of what the NFL is today.
Roger Goodell should be taken out to the 50 yard line this monday night and have his brains blown out on national television.
Goodell: “Wait, it’s fun… and for charity…
RABBBLERABBLERABBLERABBLE!!!”
What a joke, here’s an innovative way to raise money for a cause that’s drawn the NFL a lot of negative press over the course the past year, and they shoot it down because they’re not getting a cut. This league is absolutely selfish and repulsive at times.
P.S. Celek is awesome, should be in the Pro Bowl if it weren’t a popularity contest.
Tony
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant, your marketing savvy, not your choice of NFL team.
Please forward with all dispatch current NFL players for the following commando product, characters spots.
The Crash Test Dummy
Trojan Man
Forrest Gump II the movie
Foster Farms
Jack-in-the Box
Regards
SM2SM2
I’m glad the NFL is focusing on the issues that really matter
• Hovenaut says: November 12, 2009 5:23 PM
Sheesh, good thing Budweiser or Miller didn’t start a similiar ad campaign.
Or Massengill.
fining URLACHER for wearing the VITAMIN WATER hat Super Bowl week, now this… Roger Goodell is such a jackass, this league is so disgusting in their GREED to SCREW anyone, and everyone in their attempt to get a cut, because they never seem satisified that they have enough money, they don’t want to help the gridiron greats who made this game great, they don’t want to take responsibility for players who have brain damage after their playing days are over, HEY ROGER, you make me EMBARRASSED to be a fan of the NFL, you should have more important things to worry about [HINT: ROGER, an out of control coach, who has an anger management problem} fining Celek is such a joke, HEY ROGER, when is the NFL going to start helping the gridiron greats?
Sometimes the “no fun league” phrase gets tossed around liberally, but I think this is a time where it is deserved. This is about brand greed, pure and simple. When I first started reading the story, I thought maybe the NFL didn’t want its players marketing a hard liquor (which has always historically suffered greater self-regulation than beer or wine). But as the article points out, KFC wasn’t allowed to do this either, so the morality angle has no play.
Here was a company coming up with a clever (and ultimately harmless) method of getting money in the hands of a charity that needs it with virtually no overhead. By the time the NFL gets involved, the charity will be lucky to see a nickle on the dollar make it to their fund.
“P.S. Celek is awesome, should be in the Pro Bowl if it weren’t a popularity contest.”
Celek’s major problem in that regard is that he’s at best the third best TE in the division, forget the conference.
Arghh!! Everyone knows that Captain Morgan sponsors Mike Leach and Texas Tech (Find your “inner pirate”!!) No problem w/their touchdown poses ha ha, get a clue NFL…..
I’m glad the NFL is focusing on the issues that really matter
How did this thread become a “Let’s bash on the Eagles” thread?
Oh, wait. Jealous Dallas fans. Of course.
Wait Wait Wait
VoxVeritas says:
November 12, 2009 8:30 PM
“P.S. Celek is awesome, should be in the Pro Bowl if it weren’t a popularity contest.”
Celek’s major problem in that regard is that he’s at best the third best TE in the division, forget the conference.
=========================
Ok
Brent Celek 40 catches 486 yards 12.2 yards per catch 4 TD’s
Jason Witten 44 catches 391 yards 8.9 yards per catch 1 TD
Chris Cooley 29 catches 332 yards 11.4 yards per catch 2 TD’s
Kevin Boss 19 catches 283 yards 14.9 yards per catch 2 TD’s
And Celek is the 3rd best TE in the NFC East?? Put the Pipe down. Celek belongs in the Probowl!
Florio–The actually true story here is that Celek’s wife is a Captain Morgan sales rep and the whole thing was her idea. He had no idea about the Gridiron Greats campaign. His wife wasn’t even aware of the campaign until Monday
“Just because a word ends in “s” doesn’t mean it requires an apostrophe to precede it. In your sentence, “its” is a pronoun and doesn’t require an apostrophe.”
Again, let me speak for every other reader here when I politely say “Please, STFU with the grammar Nazi act. This is a football site; shut up and watch the rest of us talk football.”
If you found a dangling participle in there, feel free to hang yourself with it.
While it might have been a “fun” thing, it was also an attempt by Capt. Morgan to use the NFL as a promotional tool without actually paying for it. The NFL whores itself out regularly to companies willing to pay for the right of promotion, as any entity has the right to do. They aren’t wrong to step in here and tell companies that they are NOT free to go behind the NFL’s back and work directly with players to promote their products.
Suppose the NFL has a deal with airline X to be the “official” airline of the NFL, and airline Y wants to donate $10,000 to charity every time a player scores and runs around an endzone in circles with his “wings” out. Airline Y has just hi-jacked Airline X, who paid a hell of a lot more than $10K for their affiliation with the NFL. And using a charity to receive the $10K instead of the player is a simple ploy to get away with it by tugging at the heartsrings of the fans. What fan doesn’t think the older players have gotten a raw deal from the NFL?
The point here isn’t to take away all the “fun”, it’s to nip this crap in the bud before the games become one hour commercials for God knows what promotions that no one pays a proper fee for and may actually steal thunder from competititors who paid big dough for the legal right of promoting THEIR products.
You people would damn sure do the same thing if you ran the league.
Besides, where would it all end, I mean, would we really want to see Adrian Peterson run the ball into the end zone, squat down and simulate taking a dump so ExLax can donate $10K to the Anti-Constipation Society of America????
Capt. Morgan was wrong, and if they wanted to donate $10K to the Gridiron Greats so bad, they should have simply held a presser and written the check.
I second that Notion Richm2256, This aint no English exam…if ya NaaaaMean!
“P.S. Celek is awesome, should be in the Pro Bowl if it weren’t a popularity contest.”
Celek’s major problem in that regard is that he’s at best the third best TE in the division, forget the conference.
———————————————
There’s a post reciting statistics above, so I won’t recite them again, but this statement is a major misconception. The Pro Bowl is supposed to an award for a season’s worth of work, not a contest of who people feel the best players are.
Celek has clearly had the best season of any NFC tight end outside of Vernon Davis – although I doubt either will be in the Pro Bowl because of the presence of Tony Gonzalez and Witten.
How you can put Boss or Cooley ahead of him at this point is something I cannot figure? And I’ve got a ton of respect for both players, but both players lack that next level to their game that Celek has brought.
Perhaps if Cooley didn’t get hurt, you could make the argument, but as far as this season goes, it’s at a minimum 1 and 1a for Celek and Witten.
leave it to the stupid NFL to try and shut down players doing things for charity.
i wish the NFL would stop caring so much about the specifics of people’s TD celebrations. i used to enjoy watching them, now the league fines anyone that does anything other than hand the ball to an official.
boring.