On Wednesday, reports emerged that Reebok had yanked Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes’ endorsement deal in the wake of the emergence of a sex tape.
The report first emerged on WWJND.com, and it was confirmed by the Boston Herald.
But now Reebok has spoken. In a statement distributed this morning, the company says that it never had a deal with Spikes.
“The media reports that Reebok has terminated an endorsement contract with Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes are completely false,” said Reebok spokesperon Dan Sarro. “Reebok never had a deal with Brandon. The story was reported without confirmation from Reebok, and as a result inaccurate information is now being reported as fact. We had discussions with Brandon earlier this summer, as we do with many NFL players, but no agreement has been reached and he is not currently under contract with Reebok.”
Though the WWNJD.com story wasn’t clear in this regard, the Herald indicated that a deal had been yanked before it was consummated. Thus, the Herald didn’t report that a deal ever was in place.
At a minimum, there appears to be a discrepancy regarding whether a deal was on the table for Spikes before his amateur cinematography hobby came to light. One thing that seems to be clear is that, if there had been any remaining chance for Spikes to get a shoe deal with Reebok, it’s gone now.