Michael Vick, the football player who served time in prison for unnecessary canine roughness, used to have an endorsement deal with Nike. Now that Vick is playing football again, his agent, Mike Principe, announced that Vick was back with Nike in a mutually beneficial agreement that this time didn’t involve anyone going to prison.
The only problem is that Nike didn’t sign a new deal with Vick. Nike’s KeJuan Wilkins states that “Nike does not have a contractual relationship with Michael Vick.” That statement has multiple interpretations. Some say that it means Nike wants nothing to do with Michael Vick. I think Nike wants Vick back, but they want to guarantee that Vick won’t throw them into a dirt-floored ring with Puma. Based solely on company names, I don’t think Nike stands a chance in that fight.
Vick needs to take steps to make Nike feel secure.
Loyalty
Nike needs to know that Vick only uses Nike products. What would happen if the press stopped by Vick’s house and found a bunch of pit bulls wearing Adidas trainers? I can’t even imagine the questions:
“Michael, over here! I thought you were a Nike man, Mike!”
“Why’d you wrap that dead dog in Airwalk shirts? Nike isn’t even good enough for a dead dog? Don’t dodge the question, Mike.”
“Don’t bother hiding that pair of New Balance under that pile of bones. We already got pictures.”
White doesn't seem like the most practical color.
Michael Vick needs to make Nike trust him again. It’s one thing to say that all your dogs will get branded by the Nike Swoosh, but actions speak louder than words.
Be Proactive
Vick needs to actively court Nike. Nike and Vick may have made millions off of dog fighting in the past, but that’s old news. Dog fighting is no longer cool, so Vick needs to figure out the next hip thing that can mutually benefit him and Nike.
Luckily for Vick, those years in prison gave him hours and hours of thinking time. During this time, he was able to develop a few new pitches for Nike. I have exclusive access to the Nike-pitch drawings that Vick did in prison. Get ready to be impressed.
Here we see Vick attempting to evolve the old classic. It makes sense -- doves are usually symbols of peace, so who wouldn't want to see them tear each other apart?
This is a new direction for Vick. Usually, Vick works with two of the same animal in a sort of "death match" situation. This idea revolves around a single animal vs inanimate objects. In this case -- bottles. This one could be a winner, but Nike isn't known for selling products in bottles and "Angry Giraffes Hit With Overpriced Polo Shirts" doesn't sound as exciting.
Here we go! This combines death and footwear, two things Nike has a lot of experience with. I think this is a sure sale if Vick replaces "ants" with "children from impoverished nations."
Kill Jordan
Nike relies on Michael Jordan for 300 percent of their annual profits. If he’s out of the picture, Nike is forced to find someone else to fill Jordan’s one hundred dollar shoes.
Michael Vick has a lot of things in common with Michael Jordan:
- he’s black
- his first name is Michael
- he’s black
Also, Vick’s signature dog-fighting move is called the “Air Vick.” It involves kicking a dog with both your feet off the ground. Vick claims that it’s impossible to pull off without supportive footwear.
The name of this signature move isn’t a coincidence. Some people say that Vick has planned to get rid of Michael Jordan for years. How else would you explain this drawing I found in the stack of Vick’s Nike-pitches.
There doesn't seem to be a plan B, so I'm not sure what happens if Jordan kills the hippo.
Conclusion
Michael Vick has a lot of work to do before he can get another Nike endorsement. But Vick isn’t going to just sit there and wait for a decision. Vick is a worker, and I suspect that he’s already accumulated a pile of corpses branded with that Nike swoosh.
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